SDA: Book Five War's End
by CoreyKartana
Summary: The final phase of the Spirit Detective Archives. Corey must retrieve a new sword to compete against Darkine. Derek continues to battle the evil within him, and Liz must find it in her heart to forgive Derek for killing her love. It all ends here, folks!
1. A New Begining

**Chapter 1**

_A New Beginning_

"So, you wish to find a way to re-forge your sword?" Arthur asked, taking a sip of his tea.

"Yeah. _Someone_ decided it would be a good idea to break it." Corey said grimly, jabbing his thumb over in Derek's direction.

"Shut up." Derek grumbled, taking a sip of his coffee.

It had only been two weeks since the devastating attack on the Rebel Base, leaving much in ruin. Corey Kartana, the head general of the Rebel Army, and his best friend Derek Maison, the former leader, had left for the small colony outside of the area that would have been the Human World one week ago, having arrived to meet with Arthur, the colonies leader, to discuss their next move.

Corey was twenty years old now, with short, dark brown hair that was spike up and hazel eyes. He sported a goatee, the same color as his hair but with a hint of Irish red on the sides. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt with a simple black jacket over it, since his leather jacket had been torn to shreds two weeks earlier and was still being tailored back to its original state. A pair of black fingerless leather gloves was on each of his hands, and a pair of black army boots on his feet. His silver oval necklace dangled from his neck.

Derek was a little over thirty-six, with long black hair that he had braided down to his upper back and a scruffy black beard on his face. He was wearing a black shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and a pair of black karate pants with a pair of boots on underneath. White bandages were wrapped around each of his arms, starting from his fingertips to his elbows. His left green eye and blue right eye were looking away from Arthur and Corey, still ashamed over what he had done two weeks ago.

It had been Derek who attacked the Rebel Army two weeks ago and broke Corey's legendary sword, the Tetsaru, but to both he and Corey it seemed like just yesterday. Derek had been overtaken by a darker side of his soul after the loss of his wife, Jade, and went berserk after making everyone think he was dead. Corey had forgiven his friend, of course, but most of the Rebel Army had not. Derek had killed John Wolfe, a long time comrade of the army and Derek. Most, such as Corey's childhood friend Liz, had not forgiven him as easily as the young leader. Derek, at the moment, had been camping out in the forest nearby the Rebel Base. After the repairs had got started, Corey met him there and the two took of to see Arthur, the one man who might be able to help Corey get his sword back.

"Is there anyway to fix the Tetsaru, Arthur? You have to know something!" Corey stated, setting down his empty cup of coffee, and folding his arms across his chest.

The three were sitting down at the table in Arthur's home, enjoying tea and coffee. Arthur had been quite relieved to hear that Derek was alive and well, knowing well that it was both he and Corey who would complete the fabled prophecy, the one that Darkine, the three worlds so-called ruler, had prophesized.

"There may be…but I don't know if the Tetsaru can handle it." Arthur said, taking another drink of his tea.

"What the hell does that mean, Arthur? Of course the Tetsaru can handle it! What do we have to do?" Corey asked, shaking in anticipation. Ever since Derek had destroyed the blade, Corey had felt even weaker then he did before. The Tetsaru was a gift from his former mentor, Geru, and gave him a boost of spiritual energy, and also gave him the ability to channel his energy into the blade, making it stronger.

"I mean, the material which I speak of may be to potent and to powerful for the blade." The elderly man informed him.

"Hold on…you mean this thing could make the Tetsaru even more powerful then it was before?" Corey asked, blinking.

"Yes. It is said that this particular ore was used to create the mythical blade Excalibur. There is only enough left to create one more sword, but like I said it might—" Arthur was cut off at Corey's widening eyes and talk.

"Wow! An even stronger blade then the Tetsaru! Aw, man, now I have to get it!" Corey said with child-like glee.

"Corey, pay attention." Derek finally said, having been silent for most of the conversation. The two friends looked at one another, and Corey nodded,

"Alright."

Even though Corey had forgiven Derek for the battle at the Rebel Base, Derek had not begun to forgive himself. He had killed John and many other rebel fighters, and wasn't soon going to forget that.

"Anyway," Arthur continued, setting aside his tea, "I myself tried to use the ore fifteen years ago, but could find no sword that would be able to control its power. I believe that your Tetsaru is the only sword that could have a chance to handle it."

"But Tetsaru was shattered. All that I have left is the hilt and bits and pieces of the blade," Corey explained, looking over at his broken sword, which lay on a blanket in the corner of the hut.

"Re-forging the blade wouldn't be a problem, but without the ore it would be just a regular sword." Arthur explained, "But if you two can get the ore, I can make it into a powerful weapon once again."

"Great. So where is the ore?" Corey asked.

"That would be the problem. When I found that no normal sword could withstand the power of the ore, I hid it away so that Darkine could not get his hands on it. It'll be a long journey, and once you get there…the challenge that I have set up may be to strong for even you."

There was a long silence between the three men. Arthur picked up his teacup once again and slowly drank, while Corey and Derek pondered on what there plan would be. Finally, Corey spoke up with a smile on his lips.

"We'll do it, Arthur. With the aid of that ore and my new sword, we just might have what it takes to take Darkine down for good." Corey looked over at Derek, who nodded.

"Yes. I agree with Corey. This war has lasted long enough."

Arthur gave the two men a smile. "I'm very glad to hear that. I'm not trying to jump the gun here, but what will you do once you return?"

Derek was the first to answer this time. "We talked about that on the way here. We decided that once Corey's sword is remade, we are going to attack Darkine's forces in Spirit World. We'll need their help for the final assault, and they might just be able to tell us where Darkine's base actually is."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that. I will prepare a map for you, and then I expect you'll be leaving right away?" Arthur asked.

Corey grinned and stood up. "Of course. There's no time like the present!"

******

Corey and Derek left Arthur's colony about an hour later, and arrived back at the Rebel Base six days later. Construction was still going smoothly, they noticed, and the two stopped about a quarter of a mile outside of the base.

"Hey, Derek, why don't you come back in and see Cory?" Corey asked. Derek and Jade had named their son after the young man when they had thought him to be dead, but he arrived a week before the child was born. Still, they decided to keep the name.

"I don't think so," Derek said in a sad tone, "I…don't want to upset anyone."

"Come on, Derek. You know he misses you." Corey said, putting his hands behind his head, "Just come in and check on him. He's starting to talk, ya know."

Derek was quiet for a moment, considering actually coming inside, but then a voice was heard from a few yards away.

"Corey! Welcome back!"

Elizabeth Rain, or Liz to most, came walking up to the two warriors, hands behind her back. She was wearing a camo jacket and pants, with a white shirt underneath. A pair of black gloves was on each of her hands, as well as a pair of black military boots. Her dark brown hair was tied in a ponytail and down to her lower back. She was smiling, but then spotted Derek on the other side of Corey, and her lips changed into a frown.

"Hello, Derek…" Liz said, not making eye contact with her former friend.

"Liz." Derek said simply, giving her a slight nod. Corey sighed quietly. The two of them had barely said two words to one another since Derek's return. He understood why, of course, but it was still rather annoying being in the middle of both of them.

"Liz…Derek wants to go see his son." Corey said finally, letting his hands drop to his sides.

"What?" Derek asked harshly, "I never said I did. I have to go. We'll leave in three days, Corey. Meet me back at my camp. See ya later." He started to walk off, but then raised his hand in a small wave to Liz. "Bye, Liz." And he took off.

"Damn it, all…" Corey said, grumbling and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Corey, I don't like you bringing him around here." Liz said in a stern voice.

Corey looked over at her. "Why? He's still my best friend, Liz! Look…I completely understand why you don't trust him, but at least trust me! I guarantee you he wont attack anyone again!"

"How can you promise me that? He's done it before! He killed John!!" She yelled the last part, but quickly hid her face. Corey knew she had begun to cry again.

Liz and John had become very close the months that Corey had gone to train and during Derek's disappearance. Corey knew that the death of their friend was devastating to her. It was to him as well, but Liz had known John for many years before Corey came to the future.

_So much has changed…_ Corey thought to himself as he watched Liz go back towards the base, _We all used to be so close. Damn you, Darkine. I sweat to God I'll kick your ass for everyone you've killed._

******

After Corey had taken a quick shower and had a shave and a change of clothes, he headed towards Liz's room where Derek's son waited. The young child perked it's head up as Corey entered the room and gave him a wide smile and held up his arms.

"Hey, big guy. What's up?" Corey asked, picking up the child in his gloved hands and lifting him up and down. The child giggled as he did this. Liz walked in from the kitchen and gave Corey a sad look.

"I'm sorry…about earlier." Liz said quietly, "It's just--"

Corey cut her off. "I know. Don't worry about it, but he does have the right to see his son, Liz. How would you feel if you were in his situation?"

Liz sighed. "Probably the same, but he killed so many…"

"I know. Listen…in three days, Derek and I are leaving for awhile."

"What? Why?" Liz asked, confused.

"We need to find an ore that Arthur told us about. With it, we can remake the Tetsaru, and it will possibly make it even more powerful, and then…" He paused for a moment, "We're going to attack Darkine's troops in Spirit World."

"What?!" She exclaimed, "But…but that means…"

"Yea. If we can win back Spirit World, we can find Darkine's hide out. Then, we can attack him, and finish this war." Corey said the last part with a reassuring smile.

"It'll finally be over?" Liz asked, sounding under certain.

"Yup. I think I'm strong enough now, and with Derek and you and the rest of the army backing us up, I know we can beat him." Corey looked down at the child he was still holding, who had fallen asleep in his arms. Carefully, he placed the boy down in his crib and covered him with a blanket.

"Peace…" Liz said quietly, a smile forming on her lips.

"Yea. Peace."

******

During the next three days, Corey rested up and made arrangements for Liz to be the temporary leader of the Rebel Army. News of the soon-to-come attack had spread quickly, and the troops were anxious. Everyone who came up to Corey and asked of the plan were told that they would formulate it as soon as he returned.

Finally, the day came for Corey to leave the base behind. He had told Liz that he wanted the army moved to a new location, and she said she would send word to Arthur about where so that they could find it afterwards.

Corey was in his room gathering the few items that he would need for the trip, when Liz entered the room, little Cory in her arms.

"Corey? Please be careful out there." She told her friend. "And please come back unharmed.

Corey looked at her and smiled. "Of course. It is me we're talking about. Hell, I always come back!" He gave his usual grin to her, and she smiled.

"I know. Good luck, and…" She paused, looking unsure of her words, "…tell Derek to come visit Cory when you get back."

This news put Corey's mind at ease and gave her a thumbs up. "Count on it. See ya later, Liz."

"Bye, Corey. Good luck!"

******

Corey found Derek where he was usually camped out at; a small remote area in the middle of the woods nearby. The small shelter he had made was in pieces now, and Derek stood near a small stream, waiting for Corey.

"Ready to go?" He asked once Corey arrived.

"Of course. Let's finish this, once and for all." Corey said with a grin.

"Yea…we can finally end this damned war."

"You and me, bro." Corey raised up his right hand towards Derek, "For love."

Derek looked at the hand for a long time, then smiled and took it in his own. "And for war."


	2. The Valley of the Dead

**Chapter 2**

Valley of the Dead

The two friends left the small campsite and headed west towards the location of the ore. According to Arthur's map, the location of the material was in a small cave over three thousand miles away in what used to be known as the Demon World. The two were running, knowing that their feet would carry them quicker then any vehicle would, and were in high spirits. Each had a traveling cloak, as well as their usual garments. Corey had on a pack that was thrown over his shoulder, which carried the map they needed, some dried food and a canteen. Derek had his katana strapped to his belt, and a pack, which also had dried food and water and other various items.

They had been traveling for one week now, having only made about seven hundred miles of tracks behind them. So far, everything had been easy enough. They had encountered no threats, with the exception of a rouge demon or two, but nothing they couldn't handle.

It was getting dark now, and the two had set up camp in an open field with a river running nearby. Derek was setting up camp while Corey had rigged up a fishing pole with a long stick, some string and a hook from Derek's pack.

"Getting anything?" Derek asked as he made a campfire.

"No," Corey grumbled, getting frustrated. "Damn fish won't even go for the worm.

Derek laughed lightly. "Be patient, Corey. Jeez, you really haven't changed much, have you?"

"Shaddup. I'm stronger then before, and was forced into becoming a leader. I think that would be called 'change', don't you?" Corey asked with a sly grin.

"I suppose…but your patience is still just as bad as when I left."

There was silence for a few minutes, and then Corey turned to Derek. "Hey…what did you do after you beat Lee?"

Lee had been the elite that Derek massacred after learning he had been responsible for sending the assassin to kill Jade.

Derek sighed quietly and poked at his fire with a stick. "Nothing, really. Those days are basically a blur. I tried to cope with everything, but nothing worked. Not even meditation. Finally, I snapped…" Corey could tell that Derek was having a hard time talking about the past year, and as if on cue, a fish tugged at his line.

"Oh! Hey, got one!" He pulled up a nice looking trout-like fish that were common in the demonic world and brought it over to Derek.

"Gut this, would you?" Corey asked.

"Why me? Don't you know the saying of 'You gut what you catch'?" Derek replied.

Corey grinned. "Nope. I only know the phrase 'One catches and the other cooks'." He laughed, and after a few moments Derek did too. Corey went back to fishing as Derek began to fillet the fish.

As he fished, Corey couldn't help but smile. _This trip might actually be good for Derek. He's been really distant since he came to his senses…maybe I can help him open up a bit._

Thinking about their battle, Corey began to remember when he took up Derek's katana and gained the power of the Sacred Energy, a fusion of both spiritual and demonic energy. He remembered how powerful he had become after that moment, and looked at his hand.

_I was so strong…I was on par with Derek…maybe even stronger. If I could only get that power back…_ But then he remembered the rebound of the energy. After only five minutes, his body began to break. He remembered every pore in his body thriving with pain and blood gushing out of him. It made him shiver, but still…the power.

"Corey? What're you doing? You have another fish!" Derek called out, snapping Corey out of his train of thought.

"Oh! Shit!" He quickly brought it up and took it over to Derek to fillet, not sharing his thoughts about the Sacred Energy to him.

_Maybe…if I fought Darkine like that…we could easily win._

After another hour Corey had caught five decent sized fish and the two were eating them, freshly cooked over the fire. The young man was silent as they had their meal, and Derek quickly caught on.

"Something on your mind?" He asked finally, taking a bite of his fish.

"Hmm? No, I'm fine." Corey said hastily, glancing away.

"Yea…I believe that. Something's bugging you. I can tell." Derek accused, giving his friend a small smirk.

"I guess…I'm worried, that's all." Corey admitted. "What if this ore doesn't work? That means that I'll only be as strong as I am now, and there is no way I can beat Darkine with my power level as it is now."

Derek looked at him. "But it's not just you. We'll all be fighting. Everything will work out okay."

"I guess…but still, if I was just a little stronger…"

Derek frowned. "Corey, you're plenty strong as you are now! And once we get the ore from that cave, you'll be even stronger! We can beat Darkine, okay? Trust me."

"Yea…you're right." But Corey hardly sounded convinced. "Anyways, I'm gonna turn in. Night."

"G'night, Corey." Derek said, watching the fire as Corey lay down to sleep.

******

The next morning the two packed up their small camp and left as the sun was rising. They picked up speed as the morning grew warmer, the sun feeling nice against their bodies. Derek noticed Corey still seemed troubled about their conversation they had had last night. He barely spoke as the two ran, and when confronted about it, all he said was that he was conserving energy by not talking.

After a few hours of running, the two stopped to rest on the top of a large hill, overlooking a desert valley.

"Some people in the Demon World called this place The Valley of the Dead. I never really understood why." Derek informed Corey as the two looked over it.

"How far is it? It doesn't look like there is any water for miles out there." Corey commented.

Derek shook his head. "There probably isn't. From what I heard, the valley stretches over two hundred miles. Without a vehicle, most would be dead in a matter of hours."

"What about us?"

Derek smirked at his friend. "We'll be fine. With our speed, we should managed to get through in under four hours, but we'll probably want to wait until night fall to go at it. I saw a stream a few miles back. We'll set up camp here, fill our canteens, and then head out."

Corey glanced over at him and smirked. "Well, aren't you the survivalist."

"I had to be…since I wasn't living in civilization."

Corey nodded and was about to turn back towards the way they came, when a small tremor of demonic energy filled his senses. Derek noticed it too, and the two looked to where it was coming: The Valley of the Dead.

"Demons?" Corey asked, but knew the answer.

"Yea…and a lot of them. Over two hundred." Derek replied, pulling out his katana.

"They don't feel very nice." Corey commented, making sure his gloves were on secularly.

Derek smirked. "I guess they're the welcoming committee. Come on! Let's go greet them."

The two ran down the hill and entered the Valley of the Dead. Instantly Corey and Derek felt the climate change. It became unbearably hot, well over 130 degrees. It always amazed Corey how easily the demonic plain could change.

The two ran about three miles when they caught view of their enemies, and the sight made Corey scream and point.

"Holy shit!!!" He exclaimed in fear.

"What!?" Derek asked sharply, worried.

"Dude! Zombies!!"

"Huh!?"

"Look!"

Derek turned and saw what Corey meant. Hundreds of green, slimy creatures moved towards them in a very slow and sluggish way. Their structure was that of a human, but it looked as though they had been bound by seaweed. Their arms were parallel with the ground as they moaned and moved closer to the two warriors.

"Oh. Damn it, Corey! Those aren't zombies!" Derek yelled, turning to his friend.

"Oh? Then what the hell are they?" Corey asked, still looking toward the demons.

"They're demons, obviously. I've heard about them before. They travel desert areas in large groups, attacking and feeding on whatever they can get their slimy hands on. They're not that fast, but extremely strong…to normal humans, that is."

"Hello?! That's what a fucking zombie is!!" Corey shouted, waving his arms in the air.

"They are _not_ zombies!" Derek yelled, but then looked back at the coming demons, "Still…we're going to have to take them out."

Corey grinned at him. "Alright! We're zombie hunting!"

Derek grit his teeth. "How many times do I have to tell you they aren't---oh, forget it! Let's go!"

The two charged forward, ready to strike. When they were not thirty feet away from the first wave of the 'zombies', the two skidded to a stop. Corey cocked back his right arm and made a fist, blue spiritual energy flowing around it.

"Bring it on, zombie bitches! Shotgun!!" A barrage of spiritual bullets blasted out of his fist, taking down at least fifty of the creatures, blasting them in the head, chest and limbs. The ones that weren't hit in the head who fell slowly began to pick themselves back up. Derek reacted quickly, snapping his fingers and a wave of fire hit the recovering demons, burning them to ash.

"You need to make sure you destroy their skulls…or the entire body. That's the only way to make sure their…what?" Derek looked at Corey and saw him grinning wide.

"What did I tell you? Zombies. They only die from getting hit in the head, too."

"God…shut up."

The next wave came, and this time the two went into close range combat. Corey made easy work with his fists, destroying demon after demon by nailing them in the skull. Derek's katana was also plenty affective, splitting them in half or decapitating them as they came close.

"Bring it on!" Corey yelled, grinning widely. It was clear that he was having fun destroying these blood thirsting demons. "Spirit Gun!!" As he lifted up his right index finger, a large blast of spiritual energy burst out and destroyed a row of demons.

"Show off." Derek grumbled, but also smiled. It seemed like so long ago that this was all he and Corey did, fighting demons that happened to enter their town and doing their best to protect it. Then Cross Blade came, and Kurama had saved them from certain doom. Soon after that, he had met Jade and fallen in love with her during their battle on the roof of a hotel in Portland.

"Yo, Derek! Pay attention!" Corey yelled, slamming down a demon that was coming towards Derek.

"What? Oh, sorry, Corey." Derek said, hacking down another of the slimy creatures with his katana.

"Jeez, man. You gotta be careful when you're fighting zombies. I don't want to have to kill you if you get turned!" Corey told him with mock seriousness.

"Whatever. Like you could, anyway." Derek said, rolling his eyes.

"Could too!" And the two continued making mincemeat out of the demonic minions.

******

"Nothing like a bit of exercise, eh?" Derek asked, smiling lightly and wiping off his blade with a rag that he had in his pack.

"Yea…except I got zombies guts all over my gloves. Jeez…I'm gonna have to go to the stream and wash these. They stink." Corey said, taking off his gloves, tying them together and putting them on his belt.

"Corey, they weren't zombies." Derek said sounding slightly irritated. "How long are you going to keep doing this---what the hell are you doing?"

Corey had picked up one of the heads of the creatures that Derek had decapitated by it's short black hair, and it was still alive! It was biting at Corey, trying to get close to him, but Corey wasn't allowing it.

"Hehe. Zombie head." Corey laughed.

"Put that down." Derek ordered, turning around and walking away. Corey caught up with him, still holding the head.

"I know! I'll name him!"

Derek stopped and looked at him. "You have to be kidding…"

"Murray! He shall be named Murray!" Corey broke into a fit of laughter. Derek walked over and smacked him over the head

"Put that damned thing down and let's go set up camp! I'm burning up out here." Derek told him, walking off.

"Aw…but I wanted to bring him back to Cory as a souvenir!"

"You are _not_ giving that to be son!"

"Poor sport." And Corey tossed the biting zombie head out into the desert, and the two walked back towards the hill to wait until the sun set.

******

"Ready to go?" Derek asked Corey, who was sloshing the cool water from the stream on his face and hair.

"Yup." He replied, flinging his head up and allowing the water to naturally spike his hair. He put his now clean and dried gloves on and smirked, "I'd say today was successful."

Derek rolled his eyes. "If you call fighting zombies a success, then yes."

"Aha!!" Corey exclaimed loudly, causing Derek to jump a little, "You called them zombies, too!"

"I—goddammit, just drop it." Derek grumbled, now pissed that he had fueled Corey's zombie fanatics.

"I totally win." Corey said proudly, putting his hands behind his head.

"Shut up. Let's get going. We have to cross this desert before the sun rises. I really don't feel like getting caught in a burning inferno."

"Okay." Corey walked back to their campsite and grabbed his bag and flung it over his shoulder. Derek was looking at the map, "Where to after this?"

Derek studied the map, then looked back at Corey, shrugging. "I'm not sure of the name. All Arthur's map shows is that it's a mountain region. Once we cross those, right at the bottom of that is a forest, then at the end of the woods is some plains, then a cave which apparently has the ore inside."

Corey nodded. "So we still got a long way. Great…"

Derek smirked. "Don't worry. We'll find the ore. Then, we can finally take Darkine down."

"Right! Let's get going, then! No point wasting time here!"

The two nodded to one another, and then broke into a sprint, sliding down the hill and began traveling through the Valley of the Dead, hoping that they'd encounter no problems along the way.


	3. The Lost Souls

**Chapter 3**

_The Lost Souls_

"We're climbing _that_?!" Corey exclaimed as he gazed up to the peek of the mountains.

"Yep. I don't see any other way…unless you want to lose two weeks by going around it." Derek replied.

Corey glanced over at him. "You serious? There are that many mountains around this area?"

Derek nodded. "So says the map."

"Great…" Corey said, rolling his eyes.

It was only a two-day sprint from the Valley of the Dead to the snowy mountains, and up until now the two had faced no problems. The mountains before them elevated over eight thousand feet, and there was already snow on the foot of the cliffs where the two warriors stood. It seemed like an endless snowstorm up ahead, with no chance of it stopping for the two friends. There really was no other way around it without losing a lot of time, so they had no choice.

"Well…I guess we got to." Corey said, gripping the collar of his cloak. "It's going to be hella cold, though."

"No kidding. This area of Demon World has the coldest temperatures anywhere. By the time we reach the top, it'll be well below freezing." Derek commented.

Corey glanced over at him with a slight smirk. "No biggie for us, though, eh?"

"If you say so…"

And so, the ascent to the top of the mountain range began. The two chose the easiest of the frightening cliffs, but even that one wasn't going to be a stroll up a grassy hill.

Checking their gear before hand, the two started their slow walk upward. The first thousand feet wouldn't be all that challenging, but then it began to go up at a larger degree. That would be the challenging part.

Corey and Derek made a slow pace as to not over exert themselves to quickly. They both knew that stopping would not be an option, for without the proper snow gear they would easily freeze to death. Every hour or so, they'd stop and warm themselves with Derek's demonic fire, and then continue up the treacherous mountaintop.

After they had made their climb to the three thousand foot level, they stopped to take a longer break. Finding some dead roots under the two feet of snow, they dried them and started a small fire. Because of the conditions, Derek was constantly feeding his demonic fire into the flames, keeping it from going out.

"G-geez, man…how much farther to the top??" Corey asked, shivering as he desperately tried to warm his frozen hands by the fire.

"At least…another five thousand feet." Derek replied, trying to keep the blaze going.

Corey began to do squats to keep himself warm. "I think we're being tested, dude. Like, someone doesn't want us to succeed in this mission."

Derek gave him a grin, and his teeth began to chatter. "Looks like were going to have to prove that certain somebody wrong."

The two broke out some of their food rations and began to eat to keep up their strength, and then set off once again up the mountain. The trek, like they had predicted, wasn't getting any easier. Derek noticed Corey slowing down a bit, and knew that his human body wasn't going to last much longer in the snow. They had to find shelter, even if that meant building an igloo.

Suddenly, as if a blessing from the skies had appeared, the two found a cave. They moved quickly towards it, and found the inside to be deep and dry. They also found some old dry wood and made a fire. They didn't even think to question where it came from.

"Oh, God, yes. This is like Heaven." Corey commented, taking off his soaked cloak and laying it next to the fire. "Jeez, my hands are blue!"

Derek smiled lightly. "Keep next to the fire, Corey, and warm yourself up. I think we'll be safe sleeping in here for the night…I really don't think we have any other choice."

"Fine by me." His companion replied, continuing to warm his hands by the fire.

Derek watched him and sighed quietly. He knew, in all honestly, that he would have been able to make it over the mountain if it were just himself, but with Corey here it was a problem. His human body wasn't used to these temperatures. With his demonic blood running through him, Derek would have made it without to much problem, but he dared not tell Corey that. He was having enough problems dealing with his 'lack of power'.

_I don't see his reasons for complaining, though._ Derek thought to himself as he stirred the fire. _He's the strongest human in existence as far as I know…_

The two warmed themselves fully, broke out their food and began to eat. They enjoyed their small meal and Derek watched as Corey fell quietly asleep. The young man was wiped out, and Derek knew this, taking the responsibility of first watch. The demonic warrior knew that there were probably ice apparitions in this mountain, and he really didn't want to take a chance of getting caught off guard.

The time went by slowly for Derek as he kept a watch on the main entrance of the cave, but finally he couldn't keep his eyes open for much longer. He awoke Corey and sat down next to the fire.

"There should be enough wood to keep the fire going until my next shift." Derek informed his friend, "Just keep an eye on it."

"Okay, _mom_." Corey remarked sarcastically. "You don't have to treat me like a kid, Derek. I know what I'm doing."

Derek had only just realized that he really had been treating Corey like a teenager, even though he knew that his best friend was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

"I'm sorry, Corey. I didn't realize—" but Corey stopped his apology with a hand in the air.

"Don't worry about it. Just get some sleep. I'll make sure we live." Corey assured him, almost harshly. Nodding slowly, Derek lay down and closed his eyes, falling into a light sleep. Sighing, Corey stirred the flames with a nearby stick kept an eye on the mouth of the cave.

_What is with everyone? First Liz, now Derek? I'm not a freaking kid! Damn it! What is their problem? _Frustrated now, Corey stood up and walked over to the cave's entrance and stared out into the now gentle snowfall.

"Just watch…once I get this sword, I'll be just as strong as Derek…and then we'll beat Darkine to a pulp!"

"What are you doing here?!" Roared a voice from the white snow. Startled, Corey leapt back and held up his fists.

"Who's there?" Corey called out, ready to fight.

"That's my line, brat!" As if out of nowhere, Corey felt a large fist appear from the snow hit him in the chest. The young man was thrown backwards and hit the hard rock wall behind him, causing him to grunt in pain. Hearing the punch and the contact with the wall, Derek quickly arose and unsheathed his katana out of instinct.

"Corey?! What's going on?" Derek yelled at his now standing friend.

"I don't know! I got hit outa' freaking nowhere!" Corey yelled, moving up to stand by Derek. Both warriors watched the mouth of the cave, and gasped at what they saw.

The demon, and it had to be that, was over ten feet tall and covered in white fur. The first thought that crossed both their minds was a yeti, but it was just a myth…or so they had thought.

"Who…what are you?" Derek asked, gripping his katana carefully.

The creature moved towards them slowly. "I'd like to know the same about you two! This is _my_ cave, and you are intruding!"

Corey grit his teeth. "Hey, we didn't know it was yours, man! We just came in because it just so happened to be negative fifty degrees outside!"

"That does not give you permission to enter ones home. Did your mother not teach you any manners, boy?" the demon asked.

"Boy?!!" Corey yelled, starting to move forward, but Derek stopped him.

"Corey! Enough." He turned to the demon and bowed softly. "We apologize for the intrusion and our behavior. We had no idea that this was your cave. My name is Derek Maison, and this is Corey Kartana. We…well, Corey…is a general of the Rebel Army."

"Rebel Army? The one that is fighting against Darkine?" the creature asked.

"Yea." Corey replied, regaining his cool. "We came up this mountain so that we can find something to help us in our fight." He paused for a moment. "Are you with or against Darkine?"

The thought hadn't occurred to him until after he had reveled part of their mission.

The creature sighed, and then sat down next to their fire. "I am a neutral party." He told them. "Darkine holds no threat to me up here. I am merely the guardian of the mountain. My name is Garrett."

Sighing in relief that there wouldn't be a fight, Corey and Derek both walked over to the fire and sat down opposite of Garrett.

"Why are you guarding a place like this, Garrett?" Corey asked, sitting Indian style by the burning flames.

"This is a sacred ground. On the top of this mountain is the Land of Lost Souls. I have been guarding this place for over one thousand years from anyone who came to disturb the peace."

"Land of Lost Souls? What's that?" Derek asked.

Garrett cleared his throat and straightened his back. He towered over both fighters, even while sitting. "It is a place where those who cannot enter Spirit World rest and await their judgment."

"What? Why can't people enter Spirit World?" Corey asked, but then the answer came to him. "Darkine…"

Garrett nodded. "Yes. I am afraid that during the dictatorship of Darkine, there have been no souls who have been able to cross over into the next world."

"But that means…" Corey looked over at Derek, who was wide-eyed.

"Garrett. Take me to this area." Derek requested, his voice sounding frantic.

"Why do you wish to go?" The guardian wondered.

"Please, Garrett." Corey said, looking from Derek back to the demon. "We need to check something. It's…very important. We promise not to disturb anyone or anything."

The demon paused for a moment to think, and then nodded. "Alright. You two both seem like trustworthy people. You'd have to be, if you are trying to beat Darkine. I will take you to the top of the mountain."

******

Once they left the cave, Corey and Derek noticed a dramatic change in the weather. It was no longer a blizzard, but a light flurry of snow that came at them. When asked about this, Garrett merely chuckled.

"I control the weather here. Being the ice apparition that I am, I can make even a few flakes of snow into a deadly blizzard. It is how I've protected this land all these years from intruders." He looked at the two and gave a large grin. "You two must be very powerful to have made it this far without dying."

The threesome continued on up the mountain at a much quicker pace then they had before, and finally after a few hours they reached the top of the summit. To both Corey and Derek's surprise, there was no snow here…only a dead looking land.

Bare trees were scattered about, and the ground was only dirt…as if nothing had grown out of it and lived in years. The sky was a light grayish color from the clouds that blocked the sun, but there seemed to be an odd light glowing in the air.

"Once you've finished your business, head down the other side of the mountain. You shouldn't have any problems." Garrett informed them.

"What about you?" Corey asked.

"I must continue my duty as guardian. I will start the blizzard again on this side of the mountain, and once you are gone, I will continue the full thing."

"We will be coming back this way when we finish our business. Is there anyway you can stop the blizzard again?" Corey requested.

Garrett grinned again. "Of course. You two are always welcomed here. I am glad I met you. Good luck on your journey and your battle against Darkine."

And with that, the yeti like creature left the way they came, leaving Corey and Derek alone on the top of the summit…in the Land of Lost Souls.

"What now, Derek?" Corey asked, but Derek was already moving forward. He stopped in the middle of the area, which was about one hundred feet in diameter, and closed his eyes.

"Jade?" He asked quietly, and reopened his eyes.

"Derek…" Corey said quietly, and began to walk towards him, but stopped at what came next.

Through thin air, dozens of figures appeared around them. They were all transparent, and had no faces on them. They began to walk aimlessly about, not paying any attention to Corey or Derek, as if they were the ones who weren't there.

"These are all souls?" Corey asked, glancing about, but Derek ignored him once again.

"Jade? Are…are you here?" His friend asked, looking about. Suddenly, one of the souls stopped in front of him, and the face of Jade appeared on it. She stared at Derek, the two making eye contact, and she had an extremely sad look on her face. It was a look of pure sorrow, one that would make the strongest willed person be in pain.

"Holy—" Corey said quietly, but wasn't going to disturb Derek, who didn't say a word. He only stared at his deceased wife with a look that almost mimicked her own.

"Can that really be Jade?" Corey asked aloud, and then looked at his side, where the soul of John Wolfe watched him. The sudden appearance of his old comrade made Corey jump, but he quickly regained his composure and watched his friend, who had the same look of sorrow as Jade had.

"John…damn it…I'm sorry, man. I really am." Corey said quietly, lowering his head. "If…if only I was stronger, I coulda… goddammit…" He couldn't finish his sentence, not with Derek around, even though he doubted his friend could hear him. Once again, Corey felt his power was not enough to do anything good. The same doubt that he had been feeling for the past few months. If he had been stronger, he could have saved Jade, and none of this would have ever happened. She and Derek would be living happily together, and John would still be alive, and Liz wouldn't hate Derek.

"It's all so damn stupid…" Corey grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Why couldn't I have been born a demon? Then I would be plenty strong…"

******

An hour passed, and still Derek had said nothing. Corey had leant against one of the dead trees, his eyes closed and John had gone back to being one of the faceless spirits. Finally, Corey knew that they had to continue on their journey. He walked up to Derek and gently touched his shoulder.

"Derek…let's go, man." Corey said softly, not wanting to upset his mourning friend.

Derek looked at him with sad eyes and nodded. "Yeah…let's go."

And without a second glance to Jade, Derek left. Corey stalled for a moment, looking back at the deceased woman and nodded to her,

"We'll be back. Maybe then he'll be able to say goodbye."

Corey quickly turned away and caught up with Derek and the two journeyed down the mountain, leaving the souls to continue there never ending walk around the summit.


	4. Into the Forest

**Chapter 4**

Into the Forest

"Well…isn't that just cliche…" Corey grumbled as he and Derek came to a halt and the entrance to the forest.

In front of the trail that leads through the woods, was an ancient wooden sign that read in a demonic language:

"DO NOT ENTER, UNDER ANY CERCUMSTANCES!!!"

The woods themselves were to thick to go through any other way, and Corey and Derek both knew that they had to take this path to get any closer to their goal.

The two friends did not speak of what they had seen after leaving the summit of the mountain, nor did either really want to. What they had seen there both fueled their will to continue, but also falter it. It had greatly depressed both of them, and silently they had decided not to speak of it again…at least not for now. They had other things to take care of.

"So…do we ignore the warning?" Derek asked, looking over at his comrade.

Corey nodded. "Yea. It was probably made by Arthur himself, to scare off any demons that may try to take the ore."

"Yea, but this far off?" Derek had considered the idea, but something about it didn't seem right. How would Arthur have learned the demonic language? Corey had learned it from his old teacher, Yusuke Urameshi, and Derek had known it from Hiei, as well as the bits and pieces he had learned before settling down in Corey's home town.

"At any rate, we don't have much of a choice, do we? This forest stretches on forever, and the map tells us to go this way. We gotta go through!" Corey said. Derek agreed. They really didn't have any other option.

"Okay, we go through, but let's be careful." Derek said, patting the hilt of his katana as he made his way into the forest.

"Right."

As soon as the two had entered the forest, they noticed the change of the air around them. It wasn't demonic or spiritual it was just…off. Corey considered that it might be Darkine's doing, but they both figured out that it still wasn't the same aura as their foe. The woods closed off any light that the sun produced, so Derek had to use his fire techniques to create two torches from nearby branches.

"This place just keeps going, doesn't it?" Corey commented, glancing around. "Creepy thing is…is that it feels alive."

Derek nodded in agreement. "Yes…I noticed that, too. Keep on your guard, Corey."

"Dually noted."

******

Hours passed and there were still no signs of an exit or any kind of light besides Derek's torches. Finally, the two decided to make camp for the night. Neither wanted to spend the night—or it could be the day—in the creepy forest, but they had to conserve their energy, and using his fire techniques for so long was causing Derek fatigue. The odd thing was, is that he should have had more energy then this. Corey was feeling this as well by just walking. The thought of sleep was becoming more and more welcoming with each step, even if it meant staying in the woods.

"Okay…this will work." Derek said as they stepped into a bit of a clearing. One could hardly call it that, since the woods were still just as thick, but there was a bit of space in a circular area around this certain spot, with a large tree in the center.

"You make a fire, I'll unpack." Corey said, and Derek nodded and began to gather firewood. After about ten minutes, they had their camp ready and the dried food out, with some coffee brewing over the campfire. They rarely used the bitter brew, but both knew that they'd have to take turns keeping watch for the night. Neither warrior trusted the woods, and would be ready for anything if something happened.

While eating, Derek noticed Corey staring off deeper into the woods, the same look that he had from a few nights ago.

_What is he thinking about so intently? Is he still worried about his strength?_ Derek had never seen a human advance to the levels Corey had reached. Even when they had first met, when Corey was only fourteen years old, the man had a strong spiritual power. It was far beyond anyone should have had at that age, even if they had been trained.

"Hey, Corey?" Derek asked, trying to liven up his friend.

"Hmm?" Corey glanced over at Derek, his eyes looking as though they had been in deep thought.

"What're you going to do once the war's over?"

Corey blinked a few times, and then laughed shallowly. "A bit early to be thinking about that, isn't it?"

Derek smirked. "Humor me here. You had to have some thoughts about it."

Corey smiled and then began to think. What did he want to do once the war was finish and he didn't have any obligations to fulfill? It was a question that he didn't have the luxury to think about.

"I guess…if I had to do anything, I want to take a trip."

Derek blinked. "A trip? What kind?"

Corey smiled thoughtfully. "Well, ever since I got into this time, I've only been where the Rebel Base has gone. Sure, I've seen some cool stuff, but I just want to travel around the worlds. Hell, I'll probably be able to tell some people that the war is over."

"And then what? Don't you want to settle down…have a family?" The last thing Derek said put a sad smile on his face, and Corey caught on.

"Derek…I already have a family again. You and Liz and Cory…all of you guys, and my friends at the Rebel Army."

"Don't you want to get married?"

"I do…but I'm only twenty years old, for crying out loud!" Corey laughed a little. "I still want to get stronger, Derek. What if someone even worse then Darkine appears? I want to be ready for that, and be able to hold my own."

Derek thought for a few moments, and then smiled towards his young friend. "Corey…I've learned that there is more to life then fighting. You have to know when it's time to stop fighting, and just live peacefully…"

"And do what? Become weak?!" The shout that Corey gave made Derek jump slightly, catching him off guard.

"I don't want that to happen! I don't want to be the weak one, Derek! It's always been my dream to be the best, and you know that! And now look! There are so many people who are fucking better then me. Hell, I used to be stronger then you! But now…now you're way better then I am. Even Garrett got off a lucky punch on me! He caught me off my guard…" His voice trailed off a bit, and he turned away. Derek looked at his friend sadly.

_He's been bottling this up the whole time. He's over-exaggerating about a lot of people being better then him. From what I know…the only ones who's energy level is stronger then his own are mine and Darkine's. There may possibly be the Elite's that are stronger then him, but still…_

"Corey," Derek said aloud, "You may think your weak, but look at how much you've accomplished in two years. You're by far the strongest human, and easily stronger then most demons. I'm sure if you had been training these past fifteen years…you'd be even stronger then me."

"But that's the point, Derek." Corey said, not looking towards his friend, "I haven't. I was sent through time…too weak to prevent it then, and too weak to fight that bastard now." He sighed quietly and laid on his side, "Sorry about the blow up…do you mind taking the first watch shift?"

Derek nodded. "Sure, man. No problem. I'll wake you up in a couple hours."

"Okay. Night."

"Night, Corey."

******

The first two hours passed without incident. Derek kept a close watch, keeping his back turned from the fire, and only looking back at it to put another log on the flames. He then got up from his spot and gently shook Corey away.

"Switch time." He told his groggy friend. Corey nodded, and rose up, getting a cup of coffee and allowing Derek some rest.

"I'll get you up in another couple hours." Corey informed his friend, who nodded in agreement. After a few minutes, Corey heard Derek's breathing settle, and he knew he was fast asleep. Leaning against the large tree, Corey glanced out towards the thick patch of forestry.

_What Derek said was true…_ He thought to himself as he kept a close eye out. _But what good is that? How am I supposed to be able to beat Darkine with my power as it is now? Sure, I will have Derek there to help me, but is that all I'm going to be? Second string? _

Corey let out a heavy sigh and took another sip of his coffee. He was still feeling very groggy, and he couldn't understand why. Normally, he was able to wake right up after being on a guard duty, having done it many times before at the Rebel Base.

_Could it have something to do with the forest?_ He wondered, looking out again. _I wonder what's out there…_

"**Power…"**

The voice inside Corey's head made him jump up quickly, taking a defensive position.

"Who's there?!" Corey yelled. "Hey, Derek! Wake up!"

"**Why wake him up from his sleep? There's really no call for that, is there?"** The voice inside his head asked. Corey looked over and saw that Derek hadn't stirred at all...another peculiar thing. Derek had excellent hearing, and woke up normally at the snap of a twig.

"Who are you?" Corey asked, lowering his voice a little.

"**A friend…merely a friend. I want to help you, Corey Kartana."**

"How the hell could you help me?" Corey asked, his voice getting irritated. "Why don't you come out?"

"**Why don't you come to me?"** The voice questioned, still in his mind. **"I will give you what it is that you desire."**

Corey grit his teeth, and his spiritual energy began to rise around him. He wasn't taking any chances, especially with a mysterious voice talking to him in his mind.

"And what is it that I want?" Corey asked curiously.

"**Power…"**

Before him, as if it had always been there, came a glowing sphere. It was no larger then a softball, but glowed a dim purple color. Even for it's small size, Corey could tell it possessed energy beyond anything he had ever encountered before.

"What…is this?" Corey asked, looking around trying to find the voice, but soon his eyes were once again on the sphere.

"**It is called the Power Sphere. It grants the one who takes it power absolute." **

"Power…absolute?" Corey seemed unsure. He looked over at Derek, who was still fast asleep. How could he sleep during all of this? The Power Sphere gave off an aura of such extraordinary energy that it would be impossible for anyone with any kind of spiritual awareness to ignore.

"**Take it…"** The voice said finally. **"It's yours, now."**

"Mine?" Corey asked unsurely, "Why are you helping me?"

"**Because it is what you desire. You want power, so I am giving it to you. Now take it, and claim your rightful position as the most powerful being in all three worlds!"**

It seemed way to good to be true. Power absolute? With this thing, he could defeat Darkine, and finally give the peace to the worlds that they deserved.

Slowly, he reached his gloved hand out to take it, inching his way towards the glowing ball of energy.

_I can do it! I can beat Darkine! I can save everyone! _

Suddenly, before it was just in his grasp, the Power Sphere began to move quickly away.

"H-hey!! Wait!" Corey called out in shock.

"**After it, Corey Kartana! You must claim what is yours!"** The voice encouraged in his head.

"I know, I know!" Corey took one quick look at Derek, who was still fast asleep. "Shit! No time!"

And in a dead run, Corey took off into the thickness of the woods to catch the Power Sphere, leaving Derek unaware of everything, still fast asleep.


	5. Paradise

Chapter 5

_Paradise_

Derek awoke uneasily, feeling that there was something wrong. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that the fire had gone out.

"What the—hey, Corey? What's going on?" He asked, but found no reply to his question. Frowning, he looked around, trying to find where his friend had gone to, but there was no sign of him.

_Shit! What the hell happened?_ Derek scrambled to his feet and began looking for clues as to Corey's disappearance. He found none. With his demonic eyes, he didn't need a torch like Corey did and started forward on the trail.

_Why would he just take off like that? He wouldn't leave unless something had happened…_

With that thought, he quickened his pace to a run, trying desperately to locate his missing friend. It wasn't like Corey to just disappear like that. He was worried. This forest had an evil feel to it, and his friend's disappearance was evidence enough.

The forest just seemed to keep getting deeper and deeper, with no signs of an exit or Corey at all. Panic was beginning to overwhelm Derek, when suddenly he saw a light ahead of him. With a small grin on his lips, he quickened his pace even more towards what he believed to be the exit.

_Maybe Corey saw this, too, and is already there!_ Derek thought to himself. The light became closer and closer, until finally Derek entered it. It was so bright it was blinding. He stopped and closed his eyes, and when he slowly reopened them, his jaw dropped.

It was his home. Not the Rebel Base, but the small house that he had built when he and Jade first got married all those years ago. There was a small stream that flowed past it, and the green grass was cut. The red demonic sky was overhead, with a few cloud passing by harmlessly. The sun felt warm against his skin, and he slowly took off his cloak and tossed it over his shoulder.

"What is this?" Derek asked aloud, walking towards his cabin, checking for detail. It was exactly how he remembered it, down to the last piece of lumber. He walked around back and saw the vegetable garden that he and Jade had started, and it was fully-grown now. He smiled at insight of himself.

"Hehe…I never thought that it would actually grow. I never really did have a green thumb." Derek mused, walking over to the garden and pulling a tomato off one of the vines and taking a bite of it. It was ripe and juicy and tasted delicious.

"Did we really live outside of those woods?" He turned around, but found that the forest had disappeared. "Huh?"

He quickly walked back to the front of the house and looked around. All he could see was the vast demonic plains, just how they used to be before Darkine had appeared. Darkine?

"Darkine?" Derek asked aloud, wondering why that name had popped into his head. "I wonder who that is…"

Slowly he turned back around and opened the door to his home and peered inside. Everything was as it had been when he left. There was a small living room with a fireplace and a couch and chair facing it, with a bookshelf and a rug underneath a coffee table. Away from it was another room that was the kitchen. On the other side of the living room was a closed door where his and Jade's bedroom was. He smiled lightly.

"It's good to be home." Derek said, nodding in satisfaction.

"Derek?" came a voice from the kitchen. Blinking, Derek walked through the living room and into the room where the voice called him from, and felt his eyes widened.

Jade was smiling cheerfully at him, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a brown t-shirt, with an apron over it all. Her long brown hair was done in a braid, and her brilliant jade colored eyes gave away her happiness to see him.

"Jade?" Derek asked, bewildered.

Jade raised a brow, and then chuckled. "And who else would it be?" She walked over to him, wrapped her slender arms around him and kissed him passionately on the lips. For a moment, Derek hesitated. Was this all right? Something seemed off about it all, but he couldn't put his finger on what.

Everything seemed right, at any rate. Jade was there, waiting for him as usual. What had he been doing out, again? He had been fishing, that's right. There weren't any stores in this part of the demon world, so one had to hunt or grow vegetation to eat, and that's what they had done.

"Is everything okay, hun?" Jade asked, pulling her lips away from him and tilting her head to the side. "You seem…strange."

Derek shook his head, holding her in his arms. It seemed like forever since he had done this. "N-no…everything's great! Why wouldn't it be?" He grinned at her, and she sighed in relief.

"Good! You had me worried there for a minute, you ass." She playfully punched his arm and went back to fixing dinner. It was only then that Derek caught the aroma of the stew cooking in the pot on the stove. It was a simple life, but Derek knew he was happy here. Very happy. He was with Jade, after all.

"That's a rather large pot for just us, don't you think?" Derek commented, leaning against the wall, smiling as he looked at his wife.

"Corey, John and Liz are coming over, remember?" Jade said, looking back at him. "And don't forget that your son eats almost as much as the man he was named after!"

"Huh? Cory?" Derek asked sounding confused.

"Well, of course!" Jade sighed and smiled at her husband. "I swear, Derek, sometimes you are so forgetful. Getting senile in your old age?"

Derek gave her a mock glare. "I'm offended!" He said sarcastically, and laughed. "Wow, Cory is going to be three soon."

Jade smiled. "I know, it seems like only yesterday I had him, with you and Corey panicking. I swear if John and Liz hadn't been here to help, I'd have never gone out of labor!"

"Here?" Derek asked.

"Yes, here. In our bedroom is where we had Cory, don't you remember?" She asked.

Derek nodded slowly, but felt so confused. "Yea…right."

Hadn't Cory been born somewhere else? Derek thought so, but why would he think that? Something didn't feel right. Who was that Darkine person that Derek had thought of earlier? It was such an odd name to randomly pop into his head.

"Yo! Anyone home?" A voice called from the entrance of their home.

"Oh! They're here!" Jade said with a smile, taking off her apron and setting it on the counter. She and Derek walked into the living room to see three familiar faces waiting for them.

Liz looked her usual self. She was wearing a pair black skirt with a white top, and a black jacket over it. Her hair was also done in a braid, like Jade's.

John was wearing a dark green sports jacket with a pair of black pants on and a white t-shirt underneath that coat. His red hair was cut short, as it always way, and his red beard was trimmed neatly.

It was the sight of Corey that caught Derek off guard. He was much older for some reason. His dark brown hair was shorter and not spiked as he remembered, and with a hint of gray. He had a goatee, with the same hint of red that it always had, but with a few shades of gray mixed in it, as well. He wore a black sports jacket, and a white shirt underneath, with a pair of blue jeans.

"Corey?" Derek asked.

"Hmm? What's up, Derek?" Corey asked. Even his voice had aged. He now looked and sounded like a man in his thirties.

"You look…different." Derek remarked, putting his hands in his pockets.

Corey blinked. "I do? Oh! You mean the hair? Yea, I got it cut after I came back."

"Came back?"

"Yea. Remember? I went on a bit of a journey a few months ago. I had pretty long hair back then!" Corey laughed a little.

"I mean…you look older." Derek said quietly.

"You're getting up in the years yourself, bro." Corey commented, smirking.

"Yea…I guess so." Derek said, looking away from his group of friends.

"You sure you're okay, dear?" Jade asked, taking the arm of her husband. "You're acting awfully weird."

Was he? Everything just seemed so different. Why was he surprised that Jade was waiting for him at home? And Corey's age? He was only a year younger then him. Everything seemed normal…but not.

"Well, let's eat, shall we?" Jade said with a smile.

"Yea." Derek said, nodding to her. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, making her blush lightly, and the five of them went into the kitchen and began to eat the stew.

During dinner they all laughed and shared stories. Corey had apparently gone on a journey with Yusuke to train. It had taken a lot of time to plan, since Yusuke was king of the demons. Derek had known that, hadn't he? He was there at the tournament this year. He hadn't participated, but Corey had. The match was even closer this time then it had been when he last watched them fight, fifteen years ago. Was it that long ago? Why couldn't he remember?

"Corey?" Derek asked finally, "Do you know a person named Darkine?"

Corey blinked. "Darkine?" He thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "Can't say that I do. Why? Friend of yours?"

Derek shook his head. "No…just wondering…"

"You look awfully worried about something, Derek." Liz commented.

"Yes, Derek. Are you sure you are okay?" John asked.

"I'm fine. Don't worry…but I do need to get some air. If you'll excuse me for a minute." Derek slowly rose from the table and exited out of the house and outside. The Demon World moon was out tonight, and the air was at a comfortable temperature. Everything was perfect. He had a loving wife…a great son… wonderful friends…so why was he feeling so strange?

"Derek?" came the voice of Jade from behind him.

"Hmm?" Derek asked, looking over at his wife.

"You've been acting weird all day. Did something happen?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"I don't know, Jade. Everything seems…weird. Like, something about all this doesn't fit." Derek said honestly.

"What do you mean?" Jade asked, wrapping her arms around Derek from behind.

"Like…it all seems too…perfect."

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"So perfect…as if it's not real."

"But it is real…if you let it be," Jade said, her voice sounding seductive.

"What?" Derek asked, trying to turn, but Jade kept her arms around him. "What do you mean, Jade?"

"Derek…do you want me to stay with you…forever?"

"Of course I do!" Derek stammered, holding onto her hands with his own.

"Then don't think. Don't think about Darkine or anything. Just stay here…with me…forever in this wonderful bliss." She slowly began to kiss his neck, but he shook his head.

"Jade, what are you talking about? Do you know who Darkine is?" Derek demanded.

"Of course I do. He killed me."

"What?!" Derek pulled away and looked at her. Her expression had turned sad.

"Derek…this place…this world…it isn't the reality that you know, but it could be! All you have to do is want it to be."

"Wait…not real? Hold on…" And then, like a cold, harsh wind, it came back to him. All the real memories that he held: the day that Darkine took over, Corey coming back from the past, Jade and John dying…his cruel past was coming back to him.

"What is all this?" Derek asked softly.

"It is paradise. _Your_ paradise, Derek." Jade said, her lips turning into a smile once again. "You could stay here for all eternity, in this world with all your friends. They share the same memories that you do, and all the experiences that you would have had if Darkine hadn't taken over the worlds. Don't you want that, Derek? To live here in perfection?"

The offer was overwhelming. Here, he could be truly happy. He could be with Jade again, and together they'd watch their son grow and be with their friends…but then the cruel realization hit him. What about his real son…and his real friends? Without him, all would be lost once again, and the real world would be doomed.

"I…I can't. I'm sorry. I want too, but I…I have to fight Darkine. I have to help Corey find his new sword and save the worlds. I can't stay here. I have to put aside my own happiness…at least for now." Derek looked down at the ground, but Jade's hand lifted his chin to look at him.

"I understand, Derek. I'm glad you are doing this. It's what needs to be done. Goodbye, Derek Maison. I'm sure the real Jade would be proud of you."

Suddenly, the world around him, including Jade, began to dissolve. Derek reached his hand out towards her, but realized he couldn't touch her. The world began to turn white.

And Derek watched with tears forming in his eyes as his paradise disappeared before him into the cruel darkness that was his reality.


	6. Power Absolute

**Chapter 6**

_Power Absolute_

The faster Corey ran, the harder it was for him to keep up with the glowing power sphere. It seemed impossible to him that such a small orb could contain power beyond his imagination, but he would do whatever it took for him to get it. It was what he wanted, after all. To become strong enough to defeat Darkine and bring peace to the world…wasn't it?

Or could it be that he just wanted to be the best once again? That was a possibility, but he didn't think that's what it was. He just wanted to help everyone.

_That has to be it! There's no other reason!_ Corey thought reassuringly to himself as he ran. The woods, as thick and dark as they were, seemed to be glowing with the brightness of the power sphere. It was like Corey's own road that would lead him to victory over Darkine…and his own weakness.

"How much farther?!" Corey yelled at the voice that had been encouraging him.

"**You're close, Corey Kartana. Once you have the power sphere, you will have power absolute, and no one will be able to rival you.**"

"Power absolute…" Just the thought of it drove Corey onward. He noticed that the trees were getting thinner, and that it was much easier to run. Soon, he came to an opening.

_Finally! An exit! Once I get the power sphere, I'll go back and get Derek and show him where we have to go!_ He grinned and ran towards the lighted exit, but once he got there, he found that the light blinded him. Struggling to see, he slowed down and moved forward. Finally, the light dismissed and there before him floated the power sphere.

"Now what?" Corey asked the voice as he stared at the sphere.

"**Take hold of the power sphere and let its power absorb into your body. Then, you will feel its true power!**"

Corey nodded and slowly began to reach out for the power sphere. His hand was shaking with anticipation. He couldn't understand why he was so nervous. It was what he wanted. Power. The power to be able to defeat Darkine and save the worlds.

_I have to!_

His hand gripped around the orb and he slowly pulled it towards him. He gently pressed the sphere against his chest, and it slowly began to go into his body, until finally it disappeared within. He waited for a moment, but felt nothing.

"What is this?" Corey asked, gritting his teeth, "I don't feel any different at all!!"

"**Oh, but you will! Watch!**"

Suddenly, the world around him turned white again, and Corey was once again blinded by the brightness. When he came to, he wasn't in the woods anymore, but in the middle of a vast valley. It was nothing but dried earth, but what he did see before him was Darkine, covered in his black cloak and kneeling before Corey.

"Huh?" Corey asked, confused. "What…is this?"

"Corey!!" A voice yelled. It was Derek. "Finish him! Quickly!"

"Huh? Derek?" Corey looked over and found that Derek was badly wounded as well, his left arm having been severed off by what looked like a sword. "Derek!! Are you okay?!"

Derek grit his teeth. "Are you mad?! Don't worry about me right now! Kill Darkine!"

Corey had no idea what was going on. He couldn't be dreaming. This was all way to real. He felt the intensity of the sun against his skin, and the sweat on his body from a long battle. Slowly, he raised his right hand and held out his index finger, pointing it at Darkine.

"How…how did you become so powerful?" Darkine questioned, his voice raspy and cold.

Corey grit his teeth. "None of your damn business! This ends now, Darkine!"

Spiritual energy began to gather in Corey's right index finger as he kept his aim on Darkine.

"This isn't right!" Darkine howled, trying to get back on his feet. "It was enough that I learned that the two of you would beat me…but just you alone, Kartana?!"

"What? Derek…didn't help me?" Corey asked, still charging his Spirit Gun.

"**No!**" Shouted the voice in his head. "**You did this all on your own, Corey Kartana! Derek was injured at the start of the battle, directly after you defeated Darkine's final elite soldier. Darkine severed his arm, and you have been fighting alone ever since! Rejoice! And defeat your enemy once and for all!**"

It was too much for Corey to handle. He had beaten Darkine on his own? Without Derek? Had the power sphere been that powerful? He didn't even notice. Finally, a grin appeared on the young warriors lips.

"Hehe…I guess I'm number one again. Say goodnight, Darkine!! Spirit Gun!!" Corey roared, and shot the spiritual bullet towards his opponent. The blast was enormous. It was the biggest blast of energy Corey had ever conjured up, and it hit Darkine at point blank. Debris and smoke went everywhere, and once it had cleared, all that was left of Darkine was a few pieces of black cloak, and a bit of blood that happened to escape the blast, and a sword. The sword had an all black blade, with no guard, only a hilt wrapped in golden wrapping. Corey walked over to the sword, picked it up, and let it rest on his shoulder.

"Corey…you did it." Derek said, a small smile on his lips. "You won."

"I…I did do it, didn't I?" Corey asked, looking over at Derek with a satisfied grin. "I beat Darkine."

Corey walked over and helped Derek up with his free hand and the two began to walk away from the scene, when a thought crossed Corey's mind.

_But now what?_

The blinding white light appeared around him once again, and Corey found himself back in the woods. There was no in sight, but suddenly he heard screams coming into the woods.

"What the--?" Corey asked, still very confused over what had all just happened.

Smoke filled his nostrils, and he knew whatever was happening involved fire. Frowning, the young man began to sprint forward through the woods, in hope of helping whoever was being attacked. He noticed only then that he was unarmed once more; the black sword that he had taken when he defeated Darkine was no longer with him.

_Could it have been only a illusion?_ Corey thought, but this time the voice that had lead him to the power sphere did not answer him.

Running faster, he could see flames starting to appear outside of the forest, and the screams were getting louder.

"Shit! Gotta hurry!" Corey yelled, clenching his fists and once again increasing his speed. Finally, he got to the forest's end and slid to a stop, stunned at what he saw.

It was the Rebel Base. What was left of it, anyway.

Corey saw that the once four mobile fortresses were now down to one, as three of them were lying in rubble in the vast valley that he was now in. The three were on fire and burning down, as was the only one with enough structure left to stand. People were running around in a panic, trying to escape whatever it was that was attacking them, but Corey could see no army.

"What the hell could be attacking us!?" Corey yelled, frantically looking around. "We should've been able to stop it! Fuck! Why wasn't I here?!"

Corey began to run towards the center of the commotion, when suddenly he stopped. There, amongst some of the dead, was Liz, her face in the dirt and a deep sword wound in her back.

"No!!! Fuck!! Liz!!" Corey could already feel his throat and eyes burning from the tears that were bound to come. He ran to her and flipped her on her back, but she was already dead. He noticed amongst the blood and dirt on her face that she had been crying as she was slaughtered. Corey cradled her as his own tears finally trickled down his face.

"Liz…why? I'm so sorry…goddammit…what happened? Shit…shit!!" He slowly put her down and took off his cloak. He carefully put the cloak over her body to cover her face.

"I'll give you a proper burial…I promise." He choked out, wiping his tears with his gloved hands. His saddened expression turned to one of pure hatred. "As soon as I obliterate whoever did this to you!"

In a rage, Corey left Liz's body and continued to look for whoever was responsible for the attack. His eyes were bloodshot from tears, and his throat hurt.

_Damn it!! Whoever did this; I swear I'll destroy them!!_ Corey thought angrily as he ran.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, he got to a spot where an intense battle was happening. He stopped, as if unable to move, and watched.

Derek was the first person Corey could see in that battle. He wore his usual black karate pants and a black gi, with white bandages wrapped around his right arm. His left arm was gone, just like before. He was gripping his katana with his right hand, and slashing desperately at his opponent.

The man or demon was dressed in all black, with a white mask covering his face. Corey could not see any recognizable features about the fighter, only that he carried with him a sword with a black blade.

_Is that…the sword that I took from Darkine? What the hell happened? Did it get stolen?_ Corey tried to move forward to help Derek, but found that he couldn't. Something was keeping his body from doing anything but watch as the two warriors fought.

"You bastard!!" Derek roared as the two blades clashed. "How could you do this?!"

The other warrior said nothing, only continued to attack Derek. It horrified Corey to watch as Derek was being pushed back. He could tell he was battle worn, and that this fight had taken place for hours. He was probably out of energy.

_Derek!!!_ Corey shouted in his mind, unable to scream. Finally, the enemy managed to cut Derek's right hand, slicing it completely off. Derek howled in pain and drew the bloody stump of an arm to his chest, trying to stop the bleeding. Cold eyes stared at his opponent.

"Is this some kind of sick revenge on me?" Derek asked hatefully. "What did I do to you?"

The masked warrior began to chuckle lightly, "You always thought you were better then me, Derek…"

Derek's eyes widened. "What?"

"Ever since the first day we met. Goodbye, Derek Maison."

"Wait! Who—ugh…" and the black sword stabbed Derek through the heart. The demonic warrior fell to his knees, wide eyed. Corey tried to scream once again, fresh tears pouring out of his eyes for his fallen friend.

_Noooooooo!!!!!!!_

Derek looked up at the warrior for the final time. "Tell me…who…are you…?"

The warrior laughed again. "You haven't figured it out?" Slowly, the masked fighter lifted his hand up and took off the mask. Corey couldn't see the face, as his back was to the frozen man, but Derek did, and his eyes began to water as well.

"No…"

And he fell to the cold dirt, dead.

As if on cue, Corey felt his body able to move again. He stumbled for a moment, then regained his footing and ran towards the fighter, his hand out and charging a spirit bullet into his right index finger.

"You fucker!!!" Corey cried hatefully. Leaping into the air and grabbing his right wrist with his left hand, Corey aimed to deliver a point blank shot directly into the man who killed his friends, but sensing Corey coming, he held out his hand. A blast of blue spiritual energy shot out of the man's entire palm, nailing Corey and sending him flying across the battlefield. He landed hard and plowed into the dirt ground below him, sliding for thirty feet. Staggering, he rose and spit.

"Spirit energy?" Corey asked aloud. Only humans were capable of using spiritual energy, which meant that Derek and Liz were both killed by a human. The masked warrior walked towards him, still wielding the black blade. His cloak covered his face now.

"Just who are you?" Corey yelled, gripping his hands into fists and holding them up. He hated this man. He hated him for everything that had happened in the five minutes that he knew him.

"You don't know?" asked the cloaked warrior, laughing lightly.

"Don't fuck with me!!" Corey roared, running towards him. He threw a right-handed punch, but the man merely stepped out of the way. Corey retaliated with a swift kick towards the man's face, but once again he moved out of the way. In the process, the cloak flew off, revealing the man's face.

Corey's eyes widened and his jaw dropped at whom he saw.

The man looked to be about twenty-five years old, with long dark brown hair and green eyes. He had a goatee that matched his hair color, but with a hint of red on each end. His grin and the way he stood gave away the true identity of the warrior.

It was himself, only a few years older.

"What's up, Corey?" The elder Corey asked, "Surprised to see me? Or should I say…surprised to see _you_?!"


	7. Consequences

**Chapter 7**

_Consequences_

Corey took a step back, still unable to form the correct words. Staring right back at him was a five-year-older version of himself, and he had just killed both Liz and Derek.

Using the hem of his black cloak, the older Corey wiped off Derek's blood from his sword and sheathed the blade in his belt loop under the cloak itself.

"There's…no way…how…why?" Corey stuttered, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Why? Why would he kill all those people? He wasn't evil. He wouldn't slaughter innocent people. He wouldn't. He couldn't!

"Sorry to burst your bubble, kiddo, but it's the truth. I am you, no matter what you think. Oh…and I don't go by the name 'Corey' anymore." His older self said with a smile.

"What?" Corey asked, feeling his heart beating rapidly against his chest.

"Yeah…'Corey' was a weak fool. I just go by Kartana now, although some people like the name 'Dark Kartana'." Kartana began to laugh a little. "Dark Kartana! What an idiotic name! It's a good thing I killed the fools who thought that up! It would've given away the pleasure of seeing expressions like yours!" The small laughter turned maniacal.

"Shut up!" Corey yelled, finally gaining control of his emotions. "There is no way in hell that you are me! I'd have never killed all those people! Liz…Derek…everyone!!" Corey ran right at him, the spiritual bullet forming at the tip of his right index finger.

"Do you need proof?" Kartana asked. He held up his own right hand and extended his finger. Without even a second's warning, Kartana unleashed his own Spirit Gun right towards Corey. It was way bigger and more powerful then Corey's own Spirit Gun, and it hit him dead on, sending the younger version spiraling through the air and back another forty feet and then tumbling another ten.

Corey lay there, unable to move. It wasn't because he was too injured…the attack, although powerful, didn't seem to hurt him at all. He couldn't even feel physical pain. The evidence now was clear on who this person was. The only two people that could use the Spirit Gun to Corey's knowledge were himself and Yusuke, but his old mentor had been dead for years.

This man really was Corey Kartana…an evil Corey.

Dark Kartana.

"I just…can't believe it…" Corey said quietly.

"Believe it, kid." Kartana said as he walked over to his younger self. "This is what you become."

"No…" Corey slowly picked himself up. "I won't allow it."

Kartana glared at him. "You don't have a choice!" The elder Corey reached down and grabbed Corey by his neck and tightened his fingers around the young man's throat, choking him. Corey instinctively grabbed at Kartana's wrist.

"Hmph. You don't even deserve to be a replica of me." Kartana scoffed, continuing to choke Corey. "You're pathetic."

"F-f-fuck…you…" Corey struggled to say, still grabbing at Kartana's wrists.

"Hmm? You say something? I couldn't hear you very well!" Kartana laughed. His laughter enraged Corey even more. Just the way it sounded angered the young man.

"Fuck…you!!!" Corey yelled. With a flash of spiritual energy, Corey threw back his leg and delivered a powerful kick directly into the evil man's stomach. He winced, giving Corey the upper hand. He quickly freed himself and gave a powerful right punch into Kartana's right jaw. The blow to the face did not seem to even phase the man.

Kartana grinned darkly. "That was quite an attack…if I were a weakling, I'd probably be in pain."

Corey coughed a little, allowing air to come back into his lungs. "That's…nothing…"

"Is that right? You're going to fight me, are you?"

"Damn right!! I refuse to believe that I'll turn out like you!" Corey yelled, getting his footing ready for a strike.

"So be it." Kartana replied, and pat the hilt of his sword. "I won't even need to draw this to beat you."

"Kiss my ass!" Corey roared and charged at Kartana. He swiftly threw a right jab at his opponent's neck, but the dark warrior easily caught it with his right hand. Growling, Corey swung his left foot and delivered a heavy kick to Kartana's ribs. The man stumbled slightly, but regained his balance before Corey even had a chance to deliver another blow. Kartana swung a punch at his younger self with his left fist, but Corey ducked and uppercut his opponents under chin.

"I'll kill you!!" Corey yelled as he delivered the blow.

Kartana laughed as he was hit. "I think that's called suicide!!"

"Up yours!" Corey jumped back and held out his right hand, extending both his index and his middle finger and began to charge spiritual energy into them.

"Ah, the Double Barrel Spirit Gun. I remember inventing that." Kartana said in a nostalgic manor.

"Yeah?! Well now you'll know how it feels!!" Corey shot the blast nearly point blank at Kartana, who made no attempt to dodge or block. The attack hit dead on, and the affects of the blast caused Corey to be thrown backwards, sliding about fifteen feet. He stopped himself and grit his teeth, watching.

_Did it work?_ He thought to himself, keeping a close eye out for Kartana.

"Nice shot…" came his answer from behind him. Corey quickly turned to look, but was hit with a painful punch to his face.

"Gah!!" Corey cried out, flying backwards. The intensity of the punch made him fly over one hundred feet, and slide another twenty. He finally came to a stop, and let his head fall limp to the side. There, he saw Derek's dead body lying beside him.

_Derek…fuck…I'm sorry, bro…I…damn it…I don't know what to do…_He thought to himself. He knew Kartana would be walking towards him. Probably slowly, just to mock his younger and obviously weaker self.

_What…can I do? I can't win…how is he…me…so strong?_

And then it dawned on him.

"The power…sphere…"

The answer was so obvious to him now. It was the power sphere that did all of this. It was Corey's obsession for more power over these past couple years of being in the future, and his feeling of weakness for not being stronger then some others.

"This is…my fault…" Corey said to Derek's corpse, tears rolling down his bloody face. "It was my own damn obsessions that caused this…" His eyes began to roll upward, when he spotted a glimmering next to Derek.

His katana.

_I…I could use it. I could get the Sacred Energy once again…_ He thought to himself, but then another thought came over him.

_That's what started this in the first place…the power of the mixture of spiritual and demonic energy…but…but it's the only way. Derek? What do I do?_

"_Fight._"

"Huh?" Corey asked. He could have sworn he had just heard Derek's voice…but Derek was dead, wasn't he?

"_Fight, Corey. You have too._"

"Derek?"

Corey closed his eyes, but what he saw wasn't darkness, but his friends. All of them. Derek. Liz. John. Jade. Gero. Arthur. Everyone from the Rebel Base. They were all watching him…and they were smiling.

"You…want me to fight? But…this is my fault."

"_No, Corey._" Derek told him. "_You know now, right? You know what abusing power will do. Pick up my katana and use the power. I know you'll control it._"

"Derek…"

"_You can do it, Corey._" Jade told him, smiling.

"_Do it for us!" _John said, grinning.

"_We believe in you._" Liz encouraged.

"You guys…" Corey opened his eyes, and slowly lifted his body up to a sitting position. He could see Dark Kartana walking towards him, grinning widely.

"Well…if you guys say so…" Corey said quietly, getting into a squatting position.

"You looked pretty messed up, kiddo." Kartana shouted, continuing his walk towards Corey.

"Yea…I bet so…" Corey muttered, "But now it's your turn."

Kartana stopped about fifteen feet away from his younger self. "Still thinking cocky, eh? Ha! You really are me!"

Corey glared at him. "I am _not_ you…at least, I'm not going to let myself be…"

"Oh? So you're just going to be a weak ass, huh? Pathetic."

"No!" Corey shouted. "I won't be weak, because I'm not going to make the same mistake as you!"

Kartana raised a brow. "Oh yeah? And what mistake was that?"

Corey gave his older self a bloody grin. "I'm not going to forget my friends, and the power that they give me!!" Corey then jumped sideways towards Derek's body, and grabbed the katana that lay beside him.

In a flash, the demonic energy that Derek had been putting into his blade entered Corey's body, mixing with his own spiritual energy. He let the energy explode around him, and the combination of blue and red changed into gold, giving Corey once again the Sacred Energy of a mixed human and demon.

"So…going to do that again, are you?" Kartana asked, but Corey could see a look of worry finally enter the evil man's eyes.

"You bet. Thanks to you, I learned that I can't only rely on myself. My friends are my strength!!"

Exploding with a new power and a new resolve, Corey charged forward towards Kartana, who drew his black blade and clashed swords with Corey. The effects of the clash were massive, sending blue and gold energy everywhere around the two. They broke apart, and began battling with blades, slashing back and forth to try and take down the other.

"Do you think you can win?!" Kartana yelled.

"I have to!!" Corey screamed back. The two leapt back and began to focus energy into their swords, and then swung the blades, unleashing two powerful Spirit Slashes at one another. The energies collided in the center of the valley, ripping up the ground around them. Corey continued to pour energy into the attack, refusing to give up.

_I have to win!! For Derek! For Liz! Jade! John! Everyone!!!_

And then, everything went white.

Corey felt his body floating in dead space. His body felt numb. All around him he could only see white.

Then, a voice entered his head.

"_**I will always be waiting for you to weaken. You won't win this easily, Corey Kartana!**_ "

A grin came on Corey's lips as he felt his eyes get heavier.

"You wont…get a chance…to win…"

And the Corey fell into a dead sleep, unaware of what his fate would be.

******

Corey and Derek both opened their eyes uneasily, as if waking up from a drugged sleep. They looked around, and saw that their small fire in the little clearing of the woods was still going, as if both of them had only been sleeping for seconds. They made eye contact with each other.

"Was that…a dream?" Derek asked, unsure of what to say.

Corey smiled very slightly, and shook his head. "No…I don't know what happened, but I don't think we were dreaming."

"So it happened to you, too?" Derek asked, slowing standing up.

"Yeah…" Corey replied quietly, getting up as well. They both seemed to know that what had just happened had happen to the other, as well. They both also knew not to ask the other what had happened, as if it were some silent taboo.

"I think we should leave, Corey." Derek suggested.

Corey nodded. "Yeah…but I know one thing…I won't forget."

Derek smiled. "Me neither. Let's go, pal."

"Right." He walked over to his friend and held out his right hand. "For love."

"And for war."


	8. The Cave

Chapter 8

_The Cave _

After leaving the forest, it only took Corey and Derek three more days to reach their final destination. They knew right off the bat that the cave they stood in front of was the location of the powerful ore that Arthur had hidden. The entire area gave off a strange aura.

"So…we finally made it." Corey said, looking over at Derek and grinning. "We can finally end this thing."

Derek laughed. "Not yet. We still have to get the ore and get back."

"Ha! That's the easy part!" Corey told him enthusiastically, "We made it this far. I have a good feeling about the rest."

"Well…I hope you're right."

The two slowly made their way towards the entrance of the cave. So far, everything seemed fine. The strange aura that they had felt outside seemed to diminish right as they entered.

"That's weird…" Corey commented as they continued their walk inward.

"Yeah…I didn't think that it would be that easy." agreed Derek, looking around the cave as they walked. He had used his flame to create another torch. The cave itself seemed ordinary enough. In fact, it didn't seem as though anything of power could possibly be in this place.

Finally, the two warriors found a large cavern, at least one hundred feet around and two hundred feet up, inside of the cave. They stopped to stare at it at the front. It was covered in a strange golden shine, with a large gold serpent near the back, and in front of it, a large red rock.

"The ore." Corey said aloud, grinning widely.

Derek nodded. "Right…let's go get it, Corey, but be careful. Arthur might have set a trap for—hey!! Corey!!"

Corey had already begun to run forward and towards the red ore, entering into the main part of the cave. He stopped and looked back at Derek.

"What're you waiting for, Derek? Let's go!" He called out. Derek grumbled at his friend's lack of attention, but went to proceed onward to where Corey was waiting. He only made it about four paces when he slammed into something.

"Oww! Shit!" Derek yelled, nearly losing his balance as he crashed into whatever it was he had hit. Blinking a few times, Derek noticed that there was nothing there at all.

"What's the hold up?" Corey called, still looking towards the entrance at his friend.

Derek, rubbing his now sore nose, glared over at Corey. "Obviously there's _something_ that is preventing me from going, Corey!!" Derek yelled, not at all happy about running into an invisible wall, "I think it's a force field for demons."

Corey blinked and scratched the back of his head. "An anti-demon force field?" He gave Derek an impish grin. "Remind me to pick one of those up!" He said, laughing.

Derek held up a certain finger in Corey's direction and leaned against the wall of the cave. "Just hurry up and grab the damn thing."

"Fine, fine. Where's the love, bro?"

Corey turned around once again and walked over to the ore, but didn't touch it right away. There was something strangely ominous about this piece of material. It was as though something was telling him not to touch it.

"What's wrong, Corey?" He heard Derek calling to him. Corey turned back at him and smiled nervously,

"Nothing at all!" He then reached down and picked up the ore.

It was light…very light! Corey wondered silently how something so light could possibly be used for forging a sword, until the surge of spiritual energy soared through his hand and up his arm.

"W-woah!" Corey exclaimed, grinning. "This thing is strong!"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Well, no shit! That's why we came all this way to get it. Now come on, Corey. I gotta bad feeling about this place!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Corey said, tossing the ore up and down. Finally, their mission was complete. They had gotten the ore and could re-forge Corey's sword. Then, they'd be able to retake Spirit World, and after that…end this damn war.

_I'm comin' for you, Darkine._ Corey thought to himself as he walked.

His happiness was soon shattered as he heard a rumbling behind him.

"Corey!! Watch out!!" Derek yelled, but Corey was already two steps ahead of him. He jumped out of the way just as a large tail struck down onto the ground, a blow that could have possibly killed him.

"Shit!!" Corey swore, landing ten feet away. He looked at what attacked him and his eyes widened.

The golden serpent that had been behind the ore was staring at Corey with cold blue eyes. It had come alive in a matter of seconds. The clues quickly fell into place.

_It _was _a trap!_

The serpent began to move towards the entrance to block Corey's escape; it's speed incredible.

"Damn! No you don't!!" Corey shouted, running and trying to beat the creature to the entrance, but it was to quick. Reacting swiftly, Corey began to gather spiritual energy into his right index finger and held it out, cradling the ore in his left arm.

"Spirit Gun!!" He shouted, and blasted the creature right in the back of the head. The creature stopped, still at the entrance, but it merely looked back at Corey and hissed.

"Huh?!" Corey was dumbfounded. His Spirit Gun had had no effect whatsoever.

"Corey!" He heard Derek shout. "It's a Spirit Beast! It won't be affected by your Spirit Energy!"

"Double shit!!" Corey swore loudly. The beast shot towards Corey to strike him down, but the young man was at least fast enough to dodge a straight on attack. He jumped over the beast's skull and struck him quickly with a downward right punch, throwing the ore safely outside as he did. The beast seemed unaffected by the punch, and used its long tail to snap Corey, throwing him into the back wall.

"Corey!!" Derek yelled, after putting the ore into a safe spot behind him. Forgetting about the barrier, he went to run in and help his friend, only to get smacked down again by the invisible wall. "Dammit…wall,"

The serpent was moving in for the kill as Corey slowly recovered from the intensity of the hit, and only just managed to move out of the way as the serpent's large jaws bit into the wall where he had just been.

_How the hell am I gonna do this?!_ Corey yelled in his mind. _Punches don't do a damn thing; since I use spirit energy in them…my only chance is to escape!_

Corey realized that he didn't have any more time to think, as the serpent turned back around and struck at him once more. Leaping into the air, Corey looked down at the beast and then an idea came to mind. He quickly thought it through, and realized it was idiotic, but there weren't any more options.

"Oh well!" He yelled as he landed. Just Corey had predicted, the serpent once again turned back around and struck towards the young warrior, and like last time Corey leaped above him. The difference this time was instead of going over it, he landed right on top of the beast's head.

"Corey, what the hell?!" Derek shouted, still unable to help.

Corey ignored his friend. Since the beast had no hair or anything like that, he had to straddle the creature to not fall off. The beast tried to buck him off, but Corey wasn't letting go.

_Just gotta hold on…_ He thought to himself, gripping on for dear life.

Finally, after a few minutes of this, the beast began to slow down. Corey looked back and saw its tail moving up, and knew what to do. Just before it struck at him, he rolled off of the serpent's head, letting the beast nail itself right in the head.

"Gotcha!!" Corey yelled, grinning. The beast was stunned for a moment, but that's all Corey needed. Running quickly towards the entrance, he looked at Derek.

"Get the ore and start running! Now!!" Corey ordered, and Derek obeyed. Looking behind him, he saw the creature begin to recover sooner then he had thought. Thinking quickly, Corey charged another spirit bullet into his index finger and pointed it up at the ceiling.

"Spirit Gun!!" He yelled, and the shot blasted the ceiling of the cave, and soon began to crumble into a cave-in. Corey picked up speed and ran through the barrier, following after Derek by just as few paces. They both ran out of the cave and stopped to watch as the cave itself crumbled before their eyes.

With a final sigh, Corey looked over at Derek who was holding the ore in his left hand, smirking.

"Well…that was fun, eh?" Corey said sarcastically.

"Loads…" Derek remarked.

"Can we go home now?" Corey asked with a small smile.

"Yeah…let's head out of here."

And so, with their mission accomplished, the two warriors set off to complete the remainder of their journey back to the Rebel Base.


	9. Homecoming

Chapter 9

_Homecoming _

"We…we did it…" Corey said, grinning widely.

"Yep. We're finally back, pal." Derek replied, also smiling with rejoice.

The two were standing about a mile away from the colony in which the Arthur, Logan, and some of the other Rebels were at, staring happily at the facility. They had been gone for nearly two months, and were overjoyed to find the place safely unharmed.

"Only one thing left to do before we can go home and see everyone again." Derek said, looking over at Corey, who was holding a large bag over his shoulder.

"Yup, and that's getting my sword fixed. Then, we can finally head to Spirit World." Corey replied, still grinning.

"Let's go, buddy."

******

"Corey Kartana! Derek Maison! You've returned!" Logan exclaimed, overwhelmed by their appearance.

The two friends greeted the Lieutenant, and asked to see Arthur as quickly as possible. Logan took them to the old man's quarters immediately, and let them in. The old man was just as happy to see Corey and Derek as Logan was, and even more overwhelmed to see what Corey had in his bag.

"So you found the ore, have you?" Arthur said, beaming with pride, "I knew you two could do it."

"Yea, well, you could've told us about your little traps." Corey said, smiling grimly, "A couple of times there I thought we were screwed."

To this, Arthur merely chuckled. Corey handed him the ore out of the bag and the old man examined it, then nodded.

"Good. The forgery should take about two days, if I go swiftly. General Maison? Would you be kind enough to assist me?"  
Derek nodded and stepped forward, "Of course."

Arthur lead the two out of the tent and into the a weaponry, where there was all the materials and tools needed to create any kind of weapon one could dream of.

Corey's old sword, Tetsaru, was waiting for them on a shop table. Arthur set down the ore and began to examine both items, then nodded.

"Right. Let's begin, shall we?" He looked over at Corey, "Like I said, it will take some time. Feel free to eat and refresh yourself. I'm sure that Logan and some others would be glad to speak with you about your next plan."

Corey nodded, knowing that he was useless when it came to making weapons, and with a quick goodbye to Derek and Arthur, left the weaponry to join Logan, who was just getting ready to head to the cafeteria.

The two sat down with some other rebels, all whom were glad to see Corey had made it back unhurt, and began to talk with them about older times. It seemed that a lot of them were interested in Corey and Derek's past cases and adventures, and the young man was more then happy to tell them.

After a few hours of chatting, most of the rebels needed to get back to work, leaving Corey alone to take a shower, shave, and do other necessities. By the time he was done, it was nightfall.

_It feels good to be back in a familiar area._ He thought to himself, staring up at the full moon in the sky.

He stretched upwards and smirked. "It's also good to see nothing has really changed at all since we've been gone." He glanced around him, then back up at the moon, laughing a little,

"It feels like we've been gone for years, but it's really only been a couple of months. I hope Liz and the others are alright…and ready. Once we get back, we're taking on Darkine."

He took a step back and clenched his hands into fists, then yelled, "You here that, Darkine?! We're gonna bust you're head in and take back our worlds!!"

******

Two days later, Corey returned to the weaponry, finding both an exhausted Derek and Arthur waiting for him. They both had tired smiles on their faces.

"It's done." Arthur said, and gestured towards the work bench, where a sword was covered in a black cloth.

Nervously, Corey walked over to the bench and undid the cloth. A large smile appeared on his face.

A sword which Corey had never seen before lay waiting for him. The hilt was the same as the Tetsaru's, but the blade was now dark red, with a bit of a curve to it. It was the same length as Tetsaru, but a little wider. The odd thing was, it felt even lighter now then it had before. He picked up the blade, and instantly felt stronger then ever.

Spiritual energy gathered around him and the blade at just a touch. He looked over at Arthur and Derek, with a smile like a child on Christmas.

"You do know I'm going to have to check this out." Corey said, letting the blade rest on his shoulder.

"Naturally." Derek replied.

The three left the shop and went outside of the colony walls, with a group of spectators waiting along the wall to see what Corey could do. Arthur and Derek were a few yards behind the young man, who held the new sword in both hands.

"Let's start this out good!" Corey yelled excitedly, and began to charge his spiritual power. The blue aura over took his body and even made Arthur take a few steps back. It _was _stronger then before, and both Corey and Derek could tell in an instant.

"Spirit Slash!!" Corey yelled, swinging his sword towards the ground. The spirit energy went from his body, through the blade, and out into the open in a devastating blast, destroying the ground in front of Corey for at least one hundred feet.

Corey grinned in satisfaction and looked at the sword. "Wow."

Derek nodded in agreement. "Such power…" he said, walking over to his friend. "It's way stronger then the Tetsaru. Are you going to name it something else?"

Corey nodded. "Yea…I already got the perfect name for it."

"And that is…?"

"The Ragnarok."

******

After a day of rest for Derek, the two said their goodbyes to the Arthur and the rest. The Ragnarok was resting in it's new sheath, made out of the remaining particles of the spiritual ore with a jet black color.

"Good luck, you two." Arthur said.

"And you, as well." Corey told him, "and thank you once again.

"We'll be informing all the colonies about the attack on Spirit World." Derek explained, "It's going to take all of us to win it back."

"Of course." Logan said, smiling. "We'll be waiting."

"Later everyone!" Corey shouted, and the crowd cheered their goodbyes as both Corey and Derek turned around and took off in a sprint to the Rebel Base.

It took only three days to get back, and once the two friends did, they knew that someone had already informed the army about their return. Over one hundred soldiers and civilians were waiting for them at the front of the Mobile Fortress, with hundreds more waiting on the inside.

Standing at the front of everyone, was Liz.

She smiled as she saw the two coming forward, and as Corey and Derek got closer, they saw she was holding the baby Cory in her arms. The two stopped in front of her, and Corey took a step to the side so that Derek and Liz could look at one another, and then with a small smile, she handed the baby over to his father, who looked up at him with large eyes.

"My son…" Derek said quietly, holding the babe in his arms. Cory had grown so much since he last saw him. Tears began to stream down Derek's eyes as he held the child, who reached his hand up and poked his father on the nose.

"Daddy…" Said the little boy, which made Derek's grin grow even more.

Corey smiled at the reunion, then looked back at the other rebels and withdrew the Ragnarok from its sheath.

"Who's ready for an invasion?!" He shouted, holding his sword in the air. The response was the loud roar of the rebels, all who were more then eager to end the war.

******

"So, have you thought of a plan of attack yet?" Liz asked, sitting down in the chair of the command center.

"Umm…I've always preferred the direct approach, myself." Corey commented, leaning back in his own chair.

"That probably wont work for this situation, Corey…" Derek answered, leaning against the table.

The three were in the Conference Room of the main Mobile Fortress, sitting around or leaning against the table, where a map of the main region of Spirit World was laid out.

"With what we've gathered," Liz began, pointing at the map, "We know that there are four Captains guarding Spirit World with their armies, one of which being an Elite. We believe the Elite is closest to the front gate of the castle." She pointed to where it was.

"Yea, but that still leaves miles of troops and two other Captains to get there." Corey said, frowning and crossing his arms over his chest, "Which will make for a hard battle."

"Damn…" Derek cursed, frowning as well, "If we could only get in touch with Spirit World! Then, we could combine our forces to lead them into a pincer attack!"

"That would still leave Spirit World fighting the Elite Captain, and with Kurama being their strongest fighter, that doesn't do much good." Corey said.

"I'm sure Kurama's been training inside of the castle." Derek pointed out, "For all we know he could be up to our strength by now."

"True, I guess…but still. I'd rather not force Kurama to fight an Elite alone."

"I think our best bet is this." Liz finally said, and the two men looked at the map. "If we charge forward, with us three in the front, we could probably take out a good portion of their troops by surprise. Then, we can leave the Captains to us, and then hopefully we can all three take on the Elite."

"You're going to fight, Liz?" Corey asked, raising a brow.

"Of course!" She shouted, "I'm strong enough, and a general of this army. I'm not saying that you two probably wont beat me to the punch, but I do think that it would be for the best if we can fight the Elite together."

"She's right." Derek agreed.

"Okay, fine." Corey said, grumbling a little.

"Then it's settled. Ellen!" She called. A few seconds later, the young lieutenant came into the room.

"Yes, General Rain?"

"Prepare messengers to get the other colonies ready. In one week, we head for Spirit World!"

"Yes, General Rain!" Ellen saluted the three, and then ran out of the room.

"So…one week, eh?" Corey said with a smirk.

"Yes." Derek repeated. "This is going to be a turning point in the war, one way or another. Losing isn't an option."

"And then, we strike Darkine, and end this thing once and for all!" Corey grinned, punching his fist into his other palm.

Liz nodded. "And finally peace will come."

The three then left the room and began preparations for the battle that was to come.


	10. Spirit World at War

**Chapter 10**

_**Spirit World at War**_

"So…I haven't really been to Spirit World before, Derek." Corey said as the two marched, "How exactly do we get in?"

"What are you talking about?" Derek asked, "We were both in Spirit World after our battle with Shura."

"Yea, but I was kind of unconscious when we went there, and when we left it was via plant." Corey explained, putting his hands behind his head.

"Well, now the road to the Human and Spirit World is completely open, so we can just march there."

"See how easy that was to say?" Corey stated, rolling his eyes.

Behind the two chatting warriors was an army of over two thousand men and women, all armed with melee weaponry and spiritually powered weapons.

The past week was filled with preparation for the upcoming battle in Spirit World. It was decided that it was going to have to be all or nothing; where they would either win or lose all chance to ever beat Darkine. Some of the women and all of the children were left behind in one Mobile Fortress, but the other three were all trailing behind, ready to battle with all they had.

The road that lead by the River Styx, the river of the dead, was a mile in width, and over ten miles long. Corey, Derek, and Liz were up in the front, leading the soldiers to battle. The plan was simple enough in theory: Corey and Derek were going to break through the lines of Darkine's soldiers, leaving most of them to the warriors behind them. They would go after the Captains, hopefully being able to take on one each, and then the Elite would be fought by the both of them.

Liz was going to provide much needed back up. She would help battle the Captains, and take on the more powerful soldiers of the evil army. Although she said she wanted to help fight the Elite, they all knew that she wouldn't make it to him. This would be a battle between him and Corey and Derek.

"God, how much longer?" Corey asked, hands behind his head,

"Don't worry, Corey. We'll be fighting for our lives soon enough." Liz said, quickening her step a little more to catch up to the two men.

Corey looked back at her. "I didn't mean it like that…well, I did, but…I'm just anxious, okay?" He gave her a scowl and then grinned, walking forward a little more. They had been walking for over five hours, and Corey wasn't really used to having to march. Even though he was a general of the army, most of the moving had been done when he was lost in time.

_Even walking through that damned desert was easier then this…_ He thought to himself.

After another hour, Derek came up to Corey.

"We should stop here." He told the young man.

"How come?" Corey asked.

"The road to Spirit World will be coming up soon. We should send scouts to check out the situation." Derek explained.

Corey nodded in agreement. "Sounds good."

The troops were all ordered to stop, and four scouts were sent out to survey the area. Corey took the time to look around his own surroundings.

The area before Spirit World seemed like another dimension. The trees were all an eerie white color, and the ground had become extremely hard, even though it looked like regular dirt. The sky was also odd. It wasn't red like demon world, or blue like spirit world…it was an off green color, with lines of yellow running through it.

"Did it always look like this?" Corey asked Derek as he sat down next to their campfire.

"Yes. Spirit World was always a bit…different. I mean, can you blame it? It is the place where the dead go." He chuckled a bit, but it was a hallow laugh.

Corey knew why. Derek was still thinking about Jade, and the fact that she wasn't here in Spirit World like she should be.

"Don't worry, bro. We'll get this place working again." Corey told him, smiling.

"I know, Corey…I know." Derek said, but didn't look convinced.

"Sir!" Came the voice of a soldier. The two friends looked over at him and stood.

"What's the word?" Corey asked.

"Just as we expected, sir. Darkine has troops stationed all around the start of the road, with a single Captain with them. Further back, there are other troops in what looks like their own residential area. Tents and what not. That's probably where the Elite Captain and the other are at." The soldier saluted.

"Good work." Corey said, dismissing him. Once he left, Corey looked back over at Derek, who nodded.

"Let's get to work."

******

Thirty minutes later, all of the troops were assembled, and Corey, Derek, and Liz were standing in front of them.

"Corey?" Liz said, walking up to him, "I think you should say something."

"Huh?" Corey asked, blinking. "Why?"

"Because, _General Kartana_, you are their leader now." Derek said, giving his friend a smirk, "They need the moral right now. This is going to be the toughest fight they've ever faced, and if we win, we have an even bigger one next."

"But…damn, guys. I didn't even start this army. You two did." Corey said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But they've come to respect you, and you've lead them well this past two years. You deserve to be the one to give a speech." Liz said.

"Yea…besides, I haven't exactly been the greatest of leaders…" Derek said, looking away from the two.

"Derek…okay. I'll do it."

******

Another thirty minutes later, Corey was standing before all the men and women who had joined him, Derek, and Liz for the battle at Spirit World. They all stood at attention, watching Corey and waiting for him to say something.

"Umm…hey." Corey started, trying to think of the right words. He glanced over at Liz and Derek, who were standing a few feet away, giving him smiles for encouragement. Corey cleared his throat and tried again,

"Okay, everyone. Listen. First off, I want to thank all of you. If it wasn't for all of your efforts, we wouldn't even be here right now. Now, this is the first step towards victory of Darkine, and saving our whole damn planet! I need all of you there beside me, Derek, and Liz! We need to kick these guy's asses for all that they've done! So let's go out there and show 'em whose really boss around here! Let's do it!!"

Corey raised his fist in the air as he shouted, and the warriors in front of him all shouted war cries as well. The young man glanced over at his friends again who nodded in approval. Derek walked over to him and smirked,

"Right. Now let's really do this." He said, nodding.

"Right!" Corey yelled, grinning.

******

Corey and Derek stood at the front of the line, looking down the long road that lead to the Spirit World's palace. Before them, stood thousands of Darkine's demons, all oh which were prepared for the battle. Behind the two warriors were their own army, with Liz only a few feet behind them. They were outnumbered 2-1, but that didn't matter.

They'd win this fight. They had to.

"You ready?" Corey asked, glancing over at his friend and releasing his sword from its sheath.

"Of course." Derek replied, taking out his katana.

Simultaneously, the human and demon unleashed their spirit and demonic energies for both armies to see and feel.

And the battle began.

The two armies charged at one another, and battle broke out within seconds. Corey could hear the cries from both sides, and desperately wanted to go back and help his comrades, but he knew what he had to do.

As fast as they could, he and Derek were breaking through the lines of Darkine's Army to reach the first Captain. Corey knew he'd easily be able to take on one of the weaker ones, but him and Derek would probably have to fight the Elite together. He/She would probably be much tougher then the crazy bitch wannabe he fought before.

_And to get to him, I'll have to conserve as much spirit energy as I can when fighting the first Captain! Damn, this makes my life difficult…_

The lesser warriors, needless to say, were no match for Corey and his knew sword, the Ragnarok. Every couple of seconds he felt his sword cut through them, and he made it just a little bit closer to his first true opponent. He glanced to his side, and noticed he had lost Derek in the madness of the battle.

_Oh well…I'm sure he's fine._

And then he felt it. Derek's demonic energy surged from about two hundred feet away, as well as another powerful energy.

"Damn! He beat me to a Captain!" Corey shouted aloud, cutting through another demon with a downward slash, "I can't let him beat me to the end battle!"

******

Derek glared at the Captain before him. He was a tall demon, about seven feet tall, with long pointed ears and piercing green eyes. He wore silver plated armor, and held in both gauntleted hands a large hammer, which was sparking with electricity.

"Hmph…so, what can I call you?" Derek asked, extending his katana and allowing the dark energy of the Black Dragon to revolve around the blade and his arm.

"Daisuke will do just fine, Derek Maison." The Captain replied, smirking, "I am surprised to see you here, Maison. I was told that you went off the deep end. Killed John Wolfe…even tried to off your own son."

Derek felt the hairs on the back of his neck lift up. "Don't mess with me, Daisuke. I'll make your death even more painful."

"I'd like to see you try." Daisuke taunted.

"Trust me…you will."

Derek leapt forward with lightning speed, swinging his katana at the Captain's neck, but Daisuke was much faster then the demon general had originally thought, and sidestepped out of the way to avoid Derek's blade.

Not one to get so easily caught off guard, Derek seemingly teleported in thin air and back onto the ground, holding his katana at ready.

Daisuke grinned and without any aim at all, slammed his gigantic hammer onto the bridge, sending chunks of debris straight at Derek. With a quick flick of his wrist, black fire quickly destroyed the flying bits of rubble, but Daisuke was right in front of Derek now, his hammer swinging horizontally, making contact with Derek's body. The general was thrown fifty feet sideways and into a herd of Darkine's soldiers.

"Dammit!" Derek roared, slashing away to free himself from the evil demons.

_How did he get me?! The debris wasn't that good of a distraction!_

With Derek's right arm hurting and a bit bruised up from the hammer blow, he switched hands with his katana and ran forward to fight Daisuke once again. As he did, he felt Corey's spiritual energy a ways up from him.

_I guess he's fighting a Captain now, too. Good luck, buddy. They're a lot stronger then we originally thought._

******

"Jesus!!" Corey shouted, leaping into the air to avoid another attack from the Captain, Razor. It was a fitting name. The Captain's weapon was a fifteen foot long whip made of razor blades.

_Stupid irony or whatever the hell it is!!_ He thought to himself, landing on the ground about twenty feet away from Razor.

"What's wrong, Kartana? Can't take the heat?!" Shouted the Captain. His looks reminded Corey a lot of Kurama's: long red hair and green eyes, but his personality…well, the guy was kinda crazy.

"Bite me, Razor!" Corey shouted, holding up his left index finger. "Actually…eat this! Spirit Gun!!"

The young warrior unleashed his attack with full force, sending the blue bullet (which actually looked like an oversized cannonball) directly at Razor.

"That won't work!" Razor shouted, and withdrew his whip and began circling it around him. Confused, Corey could only watch as his spirit bullet made contact with the razor whip, and then reflected off into the air, leaving Razor unharmed.

"Oh, come on!!" Corey shouted.

Razor began to laugh. "That's right, kiddo! You can't beat me with that pathetic Spirit Gun of yours! I hope you have some more attacks, or you're fucked!"

Corey glared, but was frantically trying to think of what he could do. _My Spirit Gun wont work on him, and I can't get close enough to attack with my sword. Damn!_

Before Corey had time to think again, Razor came in for another attack, swinging the deadly whip right at the young warrior.

"Ah, crap!" Corey dodged to the right, hoping to avoid the blades of the whip, but to his amazement and misfortune, the whip moved along with him, cutting into his right shoulder, leaving a deep cut in it's wake.

"Hahahaha!! Did you honestly think that _dodging_ would work?! You're stupider then I thought!" Razor shouted as Corey clenched his wound, "My razor whip is a conductor for my demonic energy! I can make it move as I please."

_Wish he would've shouted that out earlier…_ Corey thought grimly, _Okay. Just think, Corey. You got a guy who can shield himself using his whip, and make it attack at will like a snake. How do you kill a snake?_

Razor took no time to give Corey a chance to answer is own question. With another great swing, he launched his weapon at Corey once again. Corey quickly readied his sword, but made no attempt to block the attack. He swiftly began to run about, dodging the quick hits of the whip every which way it came.

_I can't let our team get hit by these things, buy maybe if I could use one of Darkine's soldiers…_

Using his peripheral vision, Corey spotted one of Darkine's soldiers attack one of his own. Not having any other options, Corey ran towards the evil soldier and jumped in between him and his opponent, getting only a quick "Look out!!" to his ally to move out of the way. The soldier reacted perfectly, jumping out of the way and leaving the dark warrior to face Corey, but only to find a razor through his back two seconds later.

"This is going to hurt!!" Corey shouted as he reached his gloved left hand out and grabbed the end of the razor whip and yanked it down towards the ground.

"What are you doing, Kartana?!!" Corey heard Razor shout.

"Taking out the snake!!" Corey retorted. Once the razor whip's tip was through far enough in the evil soldiers body, Corey leapt over the body and ran right towards Razor, who could not pull his whip out of the body fast enough,

"And killing the snake tamer!!" Corey roared, swinging his blade right into Razor's chest, which was charged with spiritual energy.

"Spirit Gunblade!!" The devastating attack blasted around Razor at the point of contact. Corey jumped back and watched the attack take place, and noticed that the Captain dropped his weapon once the attack took place.

A few seconds later, Razor's scorned body fell to the ground, lifeless.

"That was annoying…" Corey grumbled, taking a look at his left hand, now bloodied and in severe pain.

_I didn't want to get this injured yet…man, Derek…I hope you're doing better then me._

Suddenly, Corey felt another surge of energy spark up. It took him a moment, but he figured out who it belonged too.

"Liz! Shit, I forgot all about her!" He pinpointed the location of his friend, and began to run towards it, once again starting to cut down enemies as he did.

_Ah, man! If she's fighting a Captain, she might be in trouble! Hold on, Liz! I'm coming!_

******

Liz licked her lips as a trail of blood ran down her chin. Her opponent was the female Captain, Syn. Her long pink hair flowed in the nearby wind, and she glared at Liz with piercing green eyes. She was dressed in a all blue kimono, and carried on her a plain looking saber, but Liz knew better then to think that.

The saber had an ability similar to Corey's Spirit Slash, except it did the attack with every swing. Liz had barely dodged the previous blast with her life, leaving her a few scrapes and a bloody leg.

"Had enough, bitch?" Syn asked, never smiling, only glaring at the female general.

"Heh…you wish." Liz said, smirking a little. With a quick flick of her wrists, two throwing knives appeared from under her long sleeve shirt.

"How many of those are you carrying?" The demon Captain asked.

"Enough to take you down."

The two females once again ran at each other, but Liz knew she had to keep her distance. Syn easily knocked away her last couple knives, even with her Psychic abilities giving her perfect aim within her Territory.

_John…please look out for me here!_ Liz thought to herself, and remembered back to her previous training with the deceased general.

***

"_Liz! You need to focus!" John shouted at her, holding up his hook swords into position once again._

_It was five months into their training after Corey had left the Rebel Army. The two were off a ways from the armies Mobile Fortresses, but still in view in case of an attack._

"_I'm trying!" Liz shouted back at him, wiping her brow from the intensity of their training._

"_If you want to come even close to helping Corey fight Darkine, then you'll have to develop new abilities with the use of your Psychic _

_power." John told her, letting his left blade rest on his shoulder._

"_A new ability? How? I've already mastered the art of Territory and using daggers, so what else is there?" Liz asked, frowning._

_John smirked at her. "There is always ways to improve your fighting techniques. Take Corey and Derek, for instance. They both were able to manipulate their energies to form new and more powerful attacks. That is what you have to do in order to aid your friend."_

"_I've done that before…I can manipulate the daggers in the air, attacking my enemy with them."_

"_Yes, I know this, but how can you further that move?" John asked._

"_I…I don't know." Liz admitted, looking down._

_John smirked and walked over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up into his eyes._

"_You'll think of something. Your abilities are much different then any spiritually aware human or demon I know of. You can be a great fighter, Liz. I promise."_

_The two stared at each other for awhile, then Liz nodded,_

"_Alright. I'll create a new technique, and help you and Corey anyway I can!"_

***

Liz allowed the image of John to disappear from her mind, and ran towards Syn, holding the two throwing knives in each hand.

"A head on attack?" Syn asked, shaking her head in disgust. "I thought you had more brains then this…"

The captain held her blade at ready, preparing for Liz's attack. Liz, on the other hand, had no intention of actually attacking Syn head on. About ten feet away from the captain, Liz threw the two daggers directly at her, which were swiftly knocked to the ground.

"That won't work, General Rain…you have no chance of beating me." Syn told her, glaring.

"Wanna bet?!" Liz shouted, and began opening up her Territory even more, until it was at least one hundred feet in diameter.

"What good will that do?" Syn asked.

"Watch."

Liz came to a sudden halt, and raised her arms up into the air.

"Storm of Blades."

Suddenly, every blade that was on the ground in the area of Liz's Territory rose in the air. Swords, axes, and spears that had been dropped from the battle taking place around the Captain and general were now in Liz's control. She quickly increased the density and sharpness of all of them with her abilities, and sent them flying towards Syn.

"How…?" Syn muttered, before the barrage of hundreds of blades attacked her from all angles. Not even her energy slashing ability could stop them all, and she was soon pierced by thirty remaining blades, dropping her to her knees. She gave one last dark look at Liz, before she fell flat on the ground, dead.

"I…I did it…" Liz muttered, breathing heavily, "I beat a Captain…"

Her Territory quickly shrank back to her, fading away, and she fell to a knee.

_Using the Storm of Blade's ability still takes way to much out of me…but I didn't have a choice…_

"Liz!" Shouted a voice to her right. The woman looked over to see Corey, slashing his way towards her.

"Corey? Are you okay?" Liz asked, a little out of habit.

Corey slid to a stop and helped her up. "I'm fine…but are _you _okay? I felt you battling someone strong…what happened?"

Liz smiled and gestured over to the dead Syn, and then looked back up at Corey,

"You…and Derek aren't the only ones who can fight Captains, Corey…" She said, before passing out in his arms.

Corey sighed and smiled gently. "Yeah…you showed me, Liz…"

Corey looked around and was thankful to see that their side had taken this area, thanks mostly to Liz's win over the Captain, Syn. He saw two Rebel soldiers running over to him.

"General Kartana! Is General Rain alright?" The first asked.

Corey nodded. "She'll be fine. Take her back to camp and get a healer to take a look at her. I'm heading to the front of the enemy lines."

"Sir!" Said the second soldier after the first took hold of Liz, "Reports say that General Maison is fighting a Captain right now, and that the Elite Captain is waiting directly at the Spirit Palace's gate. We think he is waiting for you and General Maison."

Corey nodded again. "Good work. I'll go assist Derek, and we'll head over to that Elite bastard."

"Yes, sir!" And the two took off back to their camp.

"Right, then." Corey turned back around, slashing the air to remove some of the blood on his blade, and began running back to the enemy lines.

******

Derek spit blood onto the ground as he stared down Daisuke once again. He had still yet to lay a hit on the Captain. Every time the evil demon slammed his hammer onto the ground, it seemed as though he was able to get past Derek's defenses.

_How the hell am I supposed to beat this guy?! There has to be a secret…every defense has an attack of opportunity. I just have to find it._

Derek had managed to keep his defenses up and not take to much damage from the Captain thanks to his Black Dragon demonic energy, but it was wearing him out. He knew he had to keep most of his energy for the Elite, but how could he do that with this guy?

"Getting tired, Maison?" Daisuke asked, laughing.

"You wish…" Derek grumbled, holding the flaming black blade at ready.

"Good! 'Cause I'd be disappointed if you were!" The Captain shouted as he swung the hammer once more, delivering another shout of debris toward Derek.

Derek knew he had to concentrate on Daisuke. He disappeared once more into the dust, and he could feel his demonic energy moving closer to him. He raised his sword to defend, but right before he could, the devastating hammer rammed him in his right arm.

"Aahh!" Derek shouted in pain, sliding to the side, but still keeping his footing.

_How?! His demonic energy wasn't near me yet! I should have been able to defend…hold on! Could he--?_

Suddenly, a plan formed into the demon general's mind, and he grinned lightly. Despite the pain that he was in, Derek glared down Daisuke, and then charged right at him.

"That won't work, Maison!" Daisuke shouted, and swung his hammer once more, covering the area in the debris. Once again, Derek felt Daisuke's energy in one spot, but completely ignored it. Two seconds before he would normally block an attack, Derek snapped his fingers. Black flames erupted around his katana, and the demon swung his blade.

Just like he had planned, the debris vanished, showing Daisuke on his knees, covered in black flames.

"H-how?" The Captain asked in disbelief.

Derek smirked. "You shouldn't only rely on one ability, and I should have saw through it sooner. You were manipulating your energy, making it so that I thought to block later then I actually needed to. Once I saw through that, you were doomed."

With one powerful downward slash, Derek split the Captain in half with his flaming katana, leaving the Captain in two parts on the ground, obviously dead.

"You were fast, Daisuke, I'll give you that." Derek said calmly, swinging his katana to get the blood off.

"Derek!" Shouted the voice of Corey from behind the older general.

"Corey. Glad to see your still with us." Derek said, smirking, but then winced in pain. Daisuke's hammer had done a lot of damage on his right arm, leaving Derek only his left to fight with.

"You going to be okay?" Corey asked.

"I'll be fine." Derek replied, trying to hide the pain.

Corey nodded. "Alright, good. We got a report saying that the Elite Captain is waiting at the front of the palace. I say we give him a proper greeting."

Derek smirked again. "Sure, why not. What kind of guests would we be if we didn't?"

"True story. Let's get moving!"


	11. Palace Battle Royal

**Chapter 11**

_**Palace Battle Royal**_

Corey and Derek cut through the dark armies defenses with blades and fire, hurrying to get to the palace of Spirit World's front gates. As the two battled, Corey quickly explained what had happened with Liz and the Captain Syn. Derek was just as impressed with her new skills as Corey had been, but there would be time for praise later. They had a mission.

To defeat the Elite Captain.

The two could see the palace getting closer and closer, but what they found strange was that there was nobody guarding it.

"What's going on?" Corey asked, confused, "Where's the Captain?"

"I don't know. Stay on guard, though. It may be a trap." Derek replied.

"Duh."

After a few more minutes, the two reached the front gates of the Spirit World Palace. It seemed ominous, so large and powerful. The great King Yama resided here, ruler of the entire universe, and yet even he could not defeat Darkine.

"I guess we just let ourselves in?" Corey asked, shrugging.

"Yeah…" Derek answered.

At the same time, the two moved over to the gate, put their hands on it, and pushed it open, and stepped inside.

The front room of the Spirit World was nothing like Derek remembered. Corey claimed he didn't remember anything about their visit years ago except for the hospital ward.

The main room was much larger then it had been before, about three hundred feet in diameter, and was shaped like a castle's welcoming hall. It had a dark blue carpeting, and a large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling two hundred feet up. Two staircases lead up to another floor and up to a large doorway.

Standing on the second floor, looking down at the two warriors, was the Elite Captain.

The man looked exactly like an average human man. He had short, black hair with green eyes, and a slight smirk on his lips. He was of medium build, standing at about six foot. In his hands were two sabers, with what looked like decorative ribbons hanging from the end of the hilts.

He wore a white robes, similar to what Corey's training Gi used to look like when he was training under Yusuke, with a black belt around his waist.

"Corey Kartana and Derek Maison I presume?" Asked the Captain, speaking in a heavy English accent.

"That's us." Corey replied. "What can we call you?"

"Stephen will do just fine, thank you." He replied, still smirking slightly.

"Alright…" Corey said, frowning a bit, "Why are you being so polite? It's creeping me out."

Stephen shrugged. "It's just how I am. So…you two are wanting a dual, are you?"

Corey nodded. "That's right…so, um, get pissed off or something, okay? I'd feel bad beating on a guy who is so damn polite."

Stephen chuckled and began to descend down one of the stairways, "Sorry to disappoint you, Corey, but I don't fight in anger. In fact, I prefer not to fight at all…so how about it? Would you care to just join me for some tea?"

The Captain reached the bottom of the stairway, still holding his sabers, but he was in no kind of fighting position Corey or Derek had seen.

"We came here to retake Spirit World, Stephen." Derek said calmly.

"Yea." Corey agreed, "But if you just want to give up, I'd take some tea."

Stephen began to chuckle. "I heard you were the witty one, Corey…but you, Derek, aren't much of a joker anymore. You used to be, though…before this war began."

"War changes people." Derek said coolly, "Now are you ready to fight us?"

"If I must." Stephen sighed, "Will you be fighting me two-on-one? I suggest you do, if you were planning otherwise. I _am_ the second strongest Captain in all of Darkine's army."

"So we heard…" Corey said grimly, readying his sword.

"We'll fight you two-on-one, then." Derek answered, holding out his katana with his left hand.

"Shall we begin?" Stephen asked, still sounding as polite as ever.

"Of course!!" Corey shouted, and instantly let his spiritual energy flow out of his body and into his sword.

_Derek nodded as well and let his demonic energy out; black flames coursing around his arms and forming the Black Dragon Claws._

"Excellent. You two are well equipped. I hope this battle will be entertaining." Stephen said with a smile. He then began to twirl around his two blades in his hands. A whirling sound began to emit from them, and grew louder as he spun faster.

"What? Are you going to annoy us to death?" Corey asked, gritting his teeth, but wondering what Stephen was up too.

"Careful!" Derek warned, "That isn't normal sound that he's making!"

And he was right. Just as Derek warned Corey, the attack was unleashed. A blast of invisible energy shot at both Corey and Derek, sending the two flying across the room and into a nearby wall.

"Damn…" Corey grumbled, jumping back to his feet, "What the hell was that?!"

"Sound energy…" Derek replied, "Those blades must be a conduit for sound waves."

Stephen smirked. "Wonderful observation, Derek! Yes, this is my ability: Sound Energy. The power of sound waves can create and destroy anything, with the proper tools, that is."

"Well...it's wonderful to hear that he is a lover of music." Corey commented sarcastically.

"This isn't the time to joke, Corey." Derek hissed, "We can't see his sound waves, because it doesn't seem to be anything like spirit or demonic energy. It's all natural."

Corey smirked and tightened the grip of his hilt. "Well, then! I guess we'll just have to take him out before he gets a chance to use it again!"

Derek nodded, and the two friends ran towards the Elite Captain. Corey ran for Stephen's right, as Derek ran to the left. With a mighty swing of his blade, the younger of the two warriors unleashed his Spirit Slash directly towards Stephen. At the same time, Derek snapped his fingers. Dark energy swarm around his katana, and he slashed towards the Captain with an attack similar to Corey's, but with the fire of the Black Dragon.

The whole time, Stephen merely stood his ground, waving his blades in the same rhythmic motion he had been before. As the two blasts of spirit and demonic energy plowed toward him, Stephen swung his swords in both directions.

Corey and Derek could only assume that it was another sound wave, because just as Stephen swung his blades, both attack swirled in mid-air, and then came thrashing back towards its users.

"Dammit!!" Corey shouted, holding up the Ragnarok to block against the attack. He managed to knock away most of the energy that could have caused him harm, but he did get a deep cut on his cheek, and felt blood trickling down.

Derek merely raised his arm and retrieved the energy, but the sound wave itself hit him once again, sending the older general back a few feet.

"How the hell do we hit you?!" Corey shouted, wiping the blood off his cheek with his thumb.

"That, my dear general, is a secret." Stephen commented, still smiling…still twirling his blades.

Derek frowned lightly. "Corey…I doubt we're going to be able to defeat him with energy attacks…"

"No joke…" Corey grumbled, holding his blade at ready again, "I guess we do it the old fashion way!!"

"Agreed." Derek nodded, and the two bolted towards Stephen.

"So, you're going to try your hands at swordsmanship. Very well!" The Captain stopped his twirling and readied himself for combat.

Corey leaped into the air and swung downward, as Derek whirled his katana for a horizontal attack. Both blades were blocked by Stephen's own two sabers. Corey landed onto the ground, and began hacking his way to try and get into Stephen's reach, but the Captain was a much better swordsman then he had let on. Derek was having the same trouble.

_How the hell do you hit this guy?!_ Corey's mind raised, continuing to hack away in vain, _We can't hit him with energy blasts, and his skill with a sword are better then both of ours combi--oh, shit!!_

Stephen managed to break Corey's offensive attack with an insanely powerful parry which knocked Corey off balance. Stephen quickly swung his foot up, nailing Corey in the stomach and threw his body into the air, hitting the ceiling, then causing him to fall painfully down to the ground with debris falling from the ceiling above.

"Corey!!" Derek yelled, but now he was dealing with two swords against his one katana. It only took Stephen a few moments to gain the upper hand on him, and slashed downward to cut down Derek. He narrowly dodged a fatal blow, but a deep wound now occupied his chest, the pain forcing him to drop his katana.

"D-damn…" Derek mumbled, pressing against the gash as well as he could.

"Derek!" Corey shouted, slowly getting up. His head was throbbing because of Stephen's own attack on him, but he was in better shape then Derek.

"I'm…fine…" Derek stuttered, coughing up a bit of blood. The attack had nicked one of his lungs. If he had been human, he'd have been dying at this point…but for now he was just in a serious world of pain.

"Well, gentleman…" Stephen said, smiling lightly, "It seems that I misjudged you. I was hoping for a good fight, since you left me no choice but to fight you."

"Shut up…" Corey grumbled, now on his feet. He twirled his blade in his hands and held it at ready once more.

"Still planning on fighting, Corey?" Stephen asked, smiling.

"Damn right I am!" Corey shouted, and then looked passed Stephen and looked at Derek. The two caught eyes for a moment, but before Stephen noticed Corey looked back at the Captain.

"Let's do it!!"

Corey charged at the Elite Captain, and the two began their second round. Stephen still had the advantage over Corey, being not only a better swordsman, but having two swords to Corey's one. Corey swung upward, only to be blocked by Stephen's right sword. The left sword was instantly coming right at him. Corey rolled out of the way, and extended his left index finger, which had been charging with energy.

"Spirit Gun!!"

The blast of spiritual energy exploded out of Corey's finger and shot towards Stephen at pointblank. Corey could see the Elite Captain's eyes widen, but he quickly through up both blades, which blocked the spiritual energy.

"Fool!" Stephen laughed. "Sound waves echo though both my weapons. Did you really think I wouldn't be able to just block it?"

"Block this!!" Shouted Derek from behind Stephen, nailing him in the back with his Black Dragon Claw, tearing through his flesh.

"Urck!" Stephen gasped, blood spurting out of his mouth, falling to his knees, "H-how?"

Corey grinned lightly, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow,

"Derek and I have known each other for years. I knew that if I was to distract you long enough, he'd be able to get a damn good hit off."

Derek smirked slightly, struggling to keep his footing, "You're finished, Stephen. Sorry we didn't get the tea in."

"You…you two…" Stephen began to growl hoarsely.

"Shouldn't have gone up against the two of us, Stephen." Corey said with a smirk. With that, Stephen fell to the ground, motionless.

Sighing in relief, Corey walked over to Derek, who put his arm around Corey's shoulder so the older general could lean on him.

"So…what is that? The second time that you've helped me take down a guy by getting him in the back?" Corey asked, laughing lightly, referring to the very first time they saved the world from a demon warlord.

Derek glared. "Don't start that again, Corey…let's just go find Koenma and Kurama…I'm sure they're being locked up somewhere…"

Corey rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Change the subject, why don't you?" He laughed again, and the two began to walk away from Stephen's body, and began walking up the staircase.

They stopped instantly as they felt a surge of demonic energy from behind them.

Turning around, the two saw blood red demonic energy coming out of Stephen's body.

"What the--?" Corey asked, his legs shaking.

"No way…how can he still be alive?" Derek asked weakly, letting go over Corey and staring in awe with his friend.

**"I…won't…be…defeated!!!" Stephen shouted, his body whipping in motion with the demonic energy surrounding him. Suddenly, his form began to change. His muscles bulged and his skin turned dark red. His eyes changed to a similar color of red as his demonic energy. His hair grew longer and more tangled. He looked like a behemoth.**

"Oh, shit…" Corey spit out, not knowing what to do.

_We could barely beat him before…now what?!_

"Corey…" Derek said quietly. Corey glanced over at him, "Go. Find Kurama. I'll hold him off."

"Are you crazy?!" Corey shouted, gritting his teeth. "You can barely breathe! You'd be murdered!"

Derek frowned. "A general has to know what is good for his army. I'll hold him off, and then you and Kurama will attack him from there."

"No! Bullshit. I wont just let you die!"

"Corey! I'm your superior officer! Do what I say!"

"Superior officer?! You've lost it! No way in hell I'm leaving now! If you have forgotten, I'm top general now, anyway!" Corey said, turning back to the newly transformed Stephen.

"Corey! Run away, goddammit!" Derek yelled.

"Go fuck yourself!" Corey shouted back, pushing Derek against a wall to lean on, and then jumping down to face off against Stephen.

"Corey!!" Derek shouted, but began to cough up blood.

_That idiot!! That damned idiot!! He'll be killed!!_ Derek thought frantically to himself as he watched his friend leave to get himself killed.

Corey landed softly on the carpeted ground of the first floor and looked up at his opponent. Stephen was now nine feet tall and looked like he could bench a whole mountain.

"Uhh…'sup?" Corey asked, smirking lightly.

"**Don't mock me, boy!**_**" **_Stephen shouted, his voice dripping like venom, "**Don't just stand there! Fight me!!**" With speed and power that Corey had never seen before, Stephen threw his fist towards Corey, who only barely rolled out of the way.

"Shit!!" Corey shouted, getting back up and swinging his sword. It was only just then that Corey noticed Stephen was no longer holding his own swords, which gave Corey an advantage that way.

_At least I should be able to use spirit energy against him now. He's just bulked up. I can do this!_

As he swung his blade and it made contact with Stephen's left arm.

"Spirit Gunblade!!" Corey roared, and the barrage of spirit bullets unleashed themselves from the Ragnarok, nailing Stephen's bulky arms directly. Corey jumped back and grinned,

"Yes!! Take that, bitch!"

The moment of glory quickly faded as he saw that Stephen was not only unharmed, but even more angry.

"What are you, the Hulk?!" Corey shouted as Stephen charged towards him, swinging his fists at full speed and power. The only thing Corey could do was dodge as fast as he could, but finally one of the monstrous fists nailed him in the stomach.

The impact was the most painful thing Corey had ever experienced. It felt like almost all of his ribs had shattered, and it was very well possible that they had. His body was flung like a rag doll through the air and into the stone wall, leaving a crater in his wake. Corey slid down and just leaned against the wall, hunched over, unable to move.

_F-fuck…_ Was the only word that came to mind for Corey. He couldn't move. His ribs and a few other bones were broken, and he was bleeding internally.

Stephen walked over to Corey's motionless body, reached down and picked him up like a doll and held him in his hand.

"**You're weak!!**" The demon screamed, and slammed his other hand into Corey's body, who screamed with helplessness.

"_Corey!!_" Derek screamed, getting up as fast as he could. He could only watch as Stephen began to squeeze Corey's limp body, who in turn could only scream in pain.

_No…Corey!! Corey! I wont…I wont let you die in front of me again!! No!!_

Derek got up and then started to run towards Stephen, ignoring the fiery pain in his chest. He held out his hand and the Black Dragon Claw began to form around his hand and arm.

Stephen stopped squeezing Corey to look over at the charging Derek,

"**You're weak, too!!!**" the beast screamed, and threw Corey's body right at Derek, who had no choice but to stop his attack and catch his friend. He quickly leaped into the air, avoiding another one of Stephen's insanely powerful punches, and landed on the second story.

"Corey! Corey, wake up! Corey!!" Derek shouted at his friend, who wasn't moving. He checked his pulse, and found him to be alive, but barely. If he couldn't get out of here with him soon…

"Damn you!!" Derek shouted, and the black flame of the Black Dragon suddenly surrounded him. Instantly, he was surrounded by the black fiery armor. The same armor that he had when he had lost his mind and battled Corey. To this day, he hadn't learned how to control it, but his emotions had brought out the armor once again.

And this time, it was to save Corey.

"I'll kill you…" Derek hissed, holding up his katana at ready.

"**You will die!!**" Shouted the mutated demon.

The two charged at one another. Stephen threw a punch downward to squish Derek where he stood, but Derek was able to leap upward into the air, striking his katana vertically to cut the Elite Captain. Stephen held up his other hand, and a shock wave of demonic energy surged out of the two warriors. Derek leaped back, and saw that the attack had cut through the evil demons fist.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Derek asked, jumping forward to attack the demon once more. Stephen held up his hand to block, but Derek, who was quickly getting control of the Black Dragon Armor and its abilities, was easily able to slash through the beast's fist, cutting him deep once again.

Stephen roared in pain and swung his other fist directly at Derek, who held up his left arm and allowed the gigantic fist to crash into it. The impact of demonic energy was enormous, but Derek held his ground.

Having an attack of opportunity, Derek swung his katana back around and slashed towards Stephen's exposed upper body. He narrowly rolled out of the way and glared towards Derek.

"**You…I'll kill you…**" The beast of a demon declared darkly.

Derek frowned. "I won't let you. I'll protect Corey, and--ugh!" Suddenly, Derek's body began to ache.

The Black Dragon Armor was starting to get stronger, but it was taking a toll on Derek's body.

_I…I'm not used to this kind of power!_ Derek realized, _It's power is just like when Corey uses my demonic energy to mix with his own! Damn! I never thought of it like that! _

He readied his katana once more, trying to hide the fact that his body was already starting to weaken due to the overflow of energy.

_What's worse…is that I don't think the Black Dragon will let up. It's a creature of darkness, and won't quit until the enemy is down. Shit!_

Not having anymore time to think about it, Derek jumped forward to attack, but Stephen had other plans. Even in his altered form, he could still tell Derek was hurting.

Before the demonic general could get close enough to strike, Stephen clapped his hands. A blast of sound energy flew towards Derek, tossing him backwards through the air and into the wall below where Corey was.

The Black Dragon forced Derek to his feet, ignoring it's masters pain.

_I…shouldn't have let it out…_ Derek thought to himself, _What if…what if I lose it again?_

Stephen was already rushing towards Derek to punch him with his gigantic fists. Derek was about to move when he realized where he was.

_No! If he hit's the wall, the flooring where Corey is will collapse! Dammit!!_

Derek braised himself for the attack, and when Stephen swung at the man, Derek brought up his katana and parried the fist with the blade. Blood splashed onto the warriors face, but Stephen wouldn't give up. He brought down his other fist and delivered a powerful blow into Derek's side, his rib bones snapping.

Derek screamed in pain as he toppled down onto the ground. The Black Dragon Armor was still going strong around his body, but that just made the pain worse.

_Dammit…Corey…I'm sorry, bro…_ Derek thought to himself as Stephen walked closer towards him.

_I…can't lose!! _Derek thought, and then came to a grim decision. _Alright, dragon. You can have my body. Just let me protect my friend._

_The dragon reacted instantly inside of Derek's body. The Black Dragon Armor completely covered his body now, the black flames flooding over his skin. Derek's eyes turned blood red, and he stared down Stephen._

"Bring it." Derek said quietly, using the same tone as he had when he had gone temporarily evil.

_I'm sorry, Corey…Liz…If I can still control some part of my body after this is all over, I'll kill myself. That way, you wont have to deal with me and this evil form once again._

_Stephen, looking almost confused at Derek's transformation, jumped backwards in order to gaze at his opponent._

The Black Dragon Armor had literally turned into just that: a suit of armor made out of black flames. Derek's katana was now blazing with the black fire, and a long tail made of the same substance whipped from his tailbone.

"**You're stronger now…**" Stephen remarked with a snarl.

"What did you expect?" Derek asked, walking towards his opponent, "I've given myself to the darkness…I truly am the dragon now. With this form, I will destroy you."

The battle started once again, and the two evil forces collided with a blast of dark energy.

Derek and Stephen's energies hit one another with a loud bang. An explosion of demonic power erupted all around the room where they battled fiercely. Their eyes locked, and both warriors knew this could very well be their final battle.

For Derek, though, no matter what this would be his last fight.

The Black Dragon was quickly consuming his mind, as it had already done his body. His muscle reflexes were not his own now, but that of the dragon's own ancient mind. The power that he now possessed…it was so strange…so raw! It was like nothing he had ever experienced before.

_Focus, Derek!!_ Derek shouted into his mind, _You're doing this to save Corey!_

Derek swung his katana towards Stephen, who rolled to the side, only to spring up and deliver a powerful punch into Derek's right side. The warrior barely even felt it thanks to the Black Dragon Armor. On reflex, Derek swung his newly developed dragon tail around and struck the punching hand, tearing it up as it made contact.

Stephen roared in pain, drawing back his fist, but Derek was not about to let up. Just as Stephen, Derek bolted forward, swinging up his trusty blade, which was blazing with black fire, and made a severing cut right into the Elite Captain's left armpit, amputating his entire left arm.

The Elite's roars of pain turned into screams of bloody murder as he instinctively held onto the wound with his free hand.

Derek landed, swinging his blade in the air to clean it of blood.

"Beg for mercy…" Derek snarled, in a voice that was nothing like his own.

_Oh no…_ He thought, _No! You stupid dragon! Don't control all of me yet!!_

Derek suddenly began shaking, as he tried to regain some control of his body. He felt that he could, but he didn't have much more time left. The Black Dragon was eager to get the warriors body for his own dark deeds, but Derek wouldn't have it.

_Trust me, you son of a bitch…I won't let you take my body!_

_For now, though, Derek had to finish off Stephen, who was no charging at full speed towards him._

Derek jumped into the air to avoid the strike, but the demon let go of the stump he now had for a shoulder and grabbed Derek's ankle and tossed him painfully onto the ground. Before he could get back up, Stephen jumped onto Derek's back.

"Gah!!" Derek cried out, coughing up a bit of blood as the Elite's foot made contact with his entire back, in the process causing him to let go of his trusty katana.

_So, you're not invisible…_ Derek thought, almost mocking the dragon through is own pain. He could hear Stephen laughing, thinking that Derek was completely unarmed now.

_No, you poor bastard…but I pity you now…_ Derek thought to himself, knowing what the dragon's next method would be.

Derek's arm began quiver, and just as Stephen was about to step onto his back once again, the Sword of the Black Dragon appeared into the warrior's hand. Before Stephen was even able to make contact with Derek, the black flaming sword cut off half of the Elite's foot with a clean slice.

With the pain of losing half his foot, Stephen cried out once more, and balanced on his only remaining whole foot, giving Derek the opportunity to leap up onto his own two feet.

"This ends now, weakling…" Hissed the voice of the dragon, now echoing out of Derek's mouth.

_That's right…_ Derek concurred, _And then it's our end, as well, dragon._

_Derek leaped into the air and held onto the Sword of the Black Dragon with two hands, going over Stephen's head and reach, landing on the opposite side of the beast. Still trying to regain his balance, Stephen had no chance to counter the upcoming attack._

Derek jumped into the air once again, and swung the flaming energy blade down into the center of Stephen's skull, cutting through the Elite's entire body.

After a brief moment of stillness, Stephen fell into two pieces, blood spraying onto the ground and onto Derek.

_He's dead._ Derek thought, and instantly tried to gain control of his hands, _I…wont let this body of mine do anymore damage! _

It quickly turned into a battle against himself as Derek tried to turn the flaming blade around so that he could now stab himself, ending both his and the Black Dragon's life.

_Corey…please. It's up to you now, my friend. I know you can stop Darkine with Kurama's help…good luck…_

Still having some control, Derek had managed to get the blade around, ready to kill himself, when suddenly he felt something with incredible power his the side of his face, causing him to fall to the ground.

The sudden impact of power seemed to counteract the Black Dragon, because for whatever reason the flaming dark armor faded off of Derek's body, leaving him in the shambles that he was before it took over.

The pain that had been suppressed instantly over took him, and he began coughing up blood.

_Who…what…how?!!_

Finally, the answer came in a voice that Derek had not heard in over fifteen years.

"What's wrong, Maison?"

Derek looked over to see a man of about his age standing ten feet away from him. Not a man…a demon. He wore a tattered traveler's cloak, with clothing similar to what Derek himself wore: a black cut off tunic and a pair of black karate pants, with a white belt around the waist. He, too, had white bandages wrapping around both his arms and hands, and a pair of black boots on his feet. Strapped to his belt was a sheathed katana.

He was shorter then Derek by a few inches, with a medium build. His long black hair reached down to his lower black. At the bangs were streaks of red that matched his eyes.

"You look like you've gotten your ass handed to you!"

His savior was the son of Hiei and his former rival, Dia Jaganshi.


	12. An Unlikely Ally

**Chapter 12**

**An Unlikely Ally**

"D-Dia Jaganshi?!" Derek stuttered out, partly because of sheer shock, and also due to the fact that he was half dead, "But…but how?! We all thought you were dead!!"

Dia smirked and walked over to Derek, "You are in no shape to be calling anyone dead, Maison." The demon replied, grabbing Derek roughly by the arm and swinging it over his shoulder.

"Wait…what? Dammit, Dia, you're not making sense!!" Derek shouted.

Dia glared over at his rival. "Will you shut it? Don't make me regret saving you from killing yourself…where's your friend Kartana? I assume he is around here half dead as well?"

Derek was about to yell again when he suddenly did remember Corey. "Shit!"

Derek released himself from Dia's "support," and started to hobble over to the top of the stairway, where Corey was still lying barely alive.

"Corey!" Derek cried out, seeing his friend in even worse condition then what he was in before.

"It doesn't look like he'll make it…" Dia commented, coming up the stairs after Derek.

"Shut up!!" Derek yelled, kneeling over to his friend and trying to pick him up, but found that he was in no condition to do so, "Dammit!"

Dia sighed and pushed Derek out of the way, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Move…" Dia grumbled, lifting up the young warrior and swinging him over his shoulder. The rough move caused Corey to start to cough up blood.

"Dia!! He's injured, for Christ's sake!" Derek yelled, slowly picking himself up.

"Will you just shut up for once in your life!" Dia retorted, "This is the quickest way to get him to your medical unit!"

Derek blinked, and then thought of something. "Dia! What's going on outside?"

A small smirk came across Dia's lips, "You're so-called 'army' won the day, Maison. Surprised me, that's for sure. I figured I'd have to come in and stop Darkine's troops myself."

A sigh of relief came out of Derek's mouth, who propped himself against a wall. Dia scratched the back of his head and jumped down off of the second floor and began to walk out.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Derek asked, clearly worried about his best friend.

"I'll tell your troops to come get you…I think Kartana here is in worse shape then you. Go figure…he is a human, after all." And he walked through the already opened gate.

Not a minute later, Derek saw the Rebel Army soldiers coming running in, spotting their general.

"General Maison! Are you alright?"

"Secure the area! I want troops to search the entire castle and find Prince Koenma and the demon-fox Kurama!"

"Once the area is secure bring General Kartana and General Maison back in!"

"Move troops!"

All around him, Derek could see and hear the surviving rebel warriors run about, getting everything under control. The general began to ponder on how many of the troops actually survived. Would it be enough to attack Darkine's stronghold? How many more of his friends would have to die to beat the evil being? Was Corey okay? What the hell was Dia doing here?

With those thoughts in his mind, Derek began to slowly fade into unconsciousness against the wall, glad for one thing that had happened today…

They were one step closer to victory.

*****

Derek felt his body and mind slowly awaken. The first thing he noticed was how much pain he was in. Clearly it hadn't been that long since he had been out.

The second thing he noticed was his location: a place that he hadn't been in over fifteen years. The Spirit World infirmary.

"Wha-?" Derek asked aloud, forcing himself to sit up. He looked over at the bed next to him to see Corey, still unconscious and looking pretty beat up. Half his body was covered in braces and wrappings.

_I hope he's okay…_ Derek thought to himself. He then took the time to examine his own body.

He was only wearing a pair of blue trousers, obviously given to him by Spirit World's doctors.

_So…it wasn't just a dream…_ Derek thought to himself.

At that moment, Derek heard the door to the room open, and Liz walk in. She smiled with relief as soon as she noticed Derek up.

"Derek! You're alright!" She exclaimed, walking over to his bed.

"Yeah…" Derek nodded, still a little unsure himself, "Are you alright? I heard you took on a Captain by yourself."

Liz nodded. "Yes…a little tired still, but I'll be fine."

Derek smiled and glanced over at Corey, then back at her, "How long has it been?"

"Three days." Liz replied, "Everything's really chaotic right now. We found Koenma and Kurama half starved in the Spirit World prison, and well…" She looked away for a moment.

"What is it?" Derek asked.

"King Yama is dead."

"Say what?!"

King Yama, Koenma's father and ruler of all the worlds. Usually, Koenma did most of his work, but he had been a great ruler nonetheless…or so Derek had heard. He was mostly a side party, only stepping in when absolutely necessary.

"How is Koenma taking it?" Derek asked.

"Fine, I suppose." Liz said, "He has a lot of things going on right now, like trying to re-establish order around here. Kurama's helping him, of course."

Derek nodded. "That's good. I'm glad they're both alright." He glanced back over at Corey once again, who was still asleep.

Liz caught onto his worry and smiled, "The doctors say he'll be fine. Just needs a lot of rest." She paused for a moment, "What happened in there, Derek? Corey was half crushed and your entire body looked like it had been ripped up."

Derek sighed and then proceeded to tell her about the entire battle, and what surprise occurred at the end.

Liz nodded slowly. "I see…wow. I still can't believe Dia Jaganshi is alive."

"Shocked me, too…" Derek agreed, "But why now? Why would he make an appearance now of all times?"

"I don't know." Liz admitted, "He hasn't spoken with anyone, that's for sure."

"You mean he's here?"

"Yes." Liz answered, "But he isn't in the palace. He's outside, near where we camped out before we attacked. He said he wanted to talk to you once, err…once you were better."

Derek gave a shallow smile. "Why do I doubt those were his exact words…"

The older general laid back in his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking. What could Dia want with him? And a better question: how was he able to suppress the Black Dragon Armor?

"Hey, Liz?" Derek spoke up, but didn't look at her, "Is Kurama able to come visit me? I'd like to speak with him."

"He's in a meeting right now with some of our Lieutenants and Koenma, but I'm sure he'd love to see you once that's done. He's been down here a couple times already, worried about both you and Corey."

Derek nodded. "Alright. Thanks, Liz. I think I'm going to sleep a little more now."

"Okay. Good night." And she left the room, leaving Derek basically alone.

_Dia…what have you discovered?_

_*****_

A couple of hours later, Kurama emerged into the hospital wing, smiling at Derek.

He hadn't changed much, with the excepting that he looked a lot thinner than he had ten years ago. He wore his usual robes, and his long red hair was even longer than he remembered.

"Derek…it's good to see you conscience." Kurama said, taking a seat next to Derek's bed.

Derek smirked. "It's good to see you at all, Kurama. It's been over ten years."

"Indeed." Kurama glanced over at the still sleeping Corey, "Has he woken up at all?"

Derek shook his head. "No…but he took a pretty savage beating from Stephen."

Kurama nodded. "Yes. I, too, fought that beast…but I'm afraid I didn't have the power to beat him. Darkine must have been very worried about keeping Spirit World under his control to allow that creature to remain here."

"Yeah. Listen, Kurama, you've heard that Dia is here, right?" Derek asked.

The spirit fox nodded. "Yes. I must say, it's quite the turn of events…we knew that he wasn't dead…otherwise he would have gone to Spirit World--"

"Spirit World!! Spirit World is open again, right?!" Derek quickly exclaimed, cutting off whatever it was Kurama was about to say.

"Yes, Derek…Spirit World is open again." Kurama replied, smiling lightly, "But it will take some time for the spirits of those who have been lost in this world to find there way here."

Derek blinked a few times and turned away from Kurama, "I see…"

Secretly, tears of joy were streaming down Derek's eyes, but he did not want Kurama to see, even if he had guessed already. Jade. Jade could finally come to Spirit World and rest in peace, as well as John.

Finally, they had done some good for the world.

"Stop crying, will ya…?" Came a voice from the bed next to Derek.

Both Derek and Kurama looked over to see a barely conscious Corey, grinning weakly over at his two friends.

"Corey!" The two demons exclaimed.

"Yeah…that's me…" Corey grumbled, very slowly sitting up in the hospital bed, "So…what have I missed? I guess we won, eh?"

Derek once again retold the tale of their battle, starting at the point where Corey had lost consciousness.

"Dia Jaganshi?! There's a shocker…" Corey said, just as bewildered as Derek had been.

"Yeah…I don't know what he wants, though. I was going to go see him tomorrow, once I've recovered a bit more." Derek said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Wish I could join you…" Corey said quietly, "But I doubt I'll be out of this bed anytime soon…"

Kurama smiled at the young man. "Now that you're awake, we'll be able to heal you with spiritual power. You should be up and going in a couple of days."

Corey nodded. "That's good…I couldn't stand sitting around for a few weeks…I've been doing that way to often."

The three laughed a bit, but then business came up.

"Kurama…" Derek began, "Will Spirit World be able to figure out where Darkine's Keep is?"

Kurama nodded, smirking. "Of course. I assumed that was part of your plan to begin with. We should be able to, but it will take at least three weeks to get everything situated…then anywhere between a day to a week to actually find Darkine."

"So…we have at the latest a month to prepare for the attack…" Corey said, frowning a bit.

"What's the matter, Corey?" Derek asked, glancing over at his friend.

"To be honest, Derek…I don't think we'll be able to defeat Darkine like we are." Corey admitted, "We both basically got our asses handed to us in that fight with Stephen, and he was only the second strongest in Darkine's forces!"

Derek frowned as well. "That is a good point…damn!"

The two friends thought on what to do until Kurama interrupted,

"Why don't we hold off on thinking about that until Derek has his meeting with Dia and when Corey recovers. Don't forget…you both did fight a Captain before you went up against Stephen."

"That's true, but still…" Corey said. Neither him or Derek were convinced. They both did need to get stronger.

"Anyway…I do agree with Kurama about waiting to worry about this until after we've recovered." Derek said nodding a bit, "Let's rest up for a little while longer, alright Corey?"

Corey nodded as well. "Okay. I could use a bit more shut eye…" The young man slouched back into a laying position and instantly fell back asleep.

Kurama chuckled. "It's so weird…seeing him back."

"I know…at least he's aged a bit for you. I saw him just like he was when he first disappeared!" Derek laughed.

It felt just like the first time Corey and Derek went to Spirit World. It was nostalgic for the older general. Of course, back then, they were laying in bed after having saved the world. This time, it was only half the battle.

******

The next day, Derek could move around much better and with a quick goodbye to Corey and Liz, left Spirit World's palace to go and talk with Dia.

Nearly all of the rebel warriors were camped out on the bridge of Spirit World, respecting the laws that for the most part, living beings were not allowed through Spirit World's gates. Koenma did make an exception for the injured and the generals to come up with plans for their future attack on Darkine.

Derek gave a few nods as he walked by, answering questions that came his way, until finally he got passed the rebel camp. A more miles and he reached Dia's own camp. The demon was sitting next to a fire, his katana laying next to him.

"So…you came." Dia said as Derek approached.

"Yeah…I heard you wanted to speak with me." Derek replied, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I did." Dia stood up and looked over Derek, "So it seems you have learned to use the Black Dragon to some degree."

Derek flinched a bit. "I guess you could say that…why do you bring it up?"

"I figure it would be obvious." Dia said, folding his arms across his chest, "You can't control the dragon once you've used the full power of the Black Dragon Armor."

Derek stared at him for a few moments. The way he said that, it made him think…

"Are you saying that you know _how_ to control the dragon?"

Dia chuckled. "You might say that."

There was a moment of silence between the two rivals. Did this mean that Dia was more powerful than Derek was now? He hated to admitted, but it made sense. In these past years, Derek had been trying to balance running an army, a family, and his own training, where Dia only had to worry about training.

"Dia…how did you survive fighting Darkine?" Derek finally asked, changing the subject for a moment.

Dia grit his teeth. "That bastard…that bastard let me live. He claimed that I wasn't worth his time. I didn't even get a hit off of him, but he beat me…and left me for dead."

Dia's fists clenched, "That was his mistake, Maison. I laid in a pool of my own blood for two days, thinking about the last thing he said to me. 'You lost because of two reasons: One, you're weak. Two, you do not know humility. You're not even close to the warrior your father was.'"

Dia went quiet, just staring into his fire, with Derek watching him.

"…and then what?" Derek finally asked.

Dia looked up at him. "After the third day, I could finally move again, and I realized something…he was right. I was weak. That was my second loss, Maison…the first being against you in the Demon Realm Tournament…so I left that place, healed myself, and then trained. I trained until I couldn't move anymore. Slowly, I gained more and more power from the Black Dragon, as I'm sure you had, and nearly lost my sanity because of it. There was only one way to control the dragon…" He paused.

Derek waited impatiently for the answer, "And what is it?"

Dia looked up at Derek and grinned. "You have to face the Black Dragon."

Derek stared at his rival for a long time, letting the news he had just heard sink in.

_Face the dragon? But how? The Black Dragon resides in the deepest pits of the Demon World, in regions that no demon has actually gone too…_

"Dia? Have…have you actually faced Black Dragon?" Derek finally asked.

"Yes I have…"

Another pause.

"What happened?" Derek asked, giving Dia his complete attention.

Dia sighed and stirred his fire with a wave of his hand, "I failed."

Derek blinked a few times. "You failed?"

Dia glared at him. "That's what I said, isn't it? I could not control the dragon to it's absolute potential. It…overpowered me…"

Derek stared at his rival for a few more moments, and then asked the next question that came to mind.

"What happened after that?"

"I lost the power of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame…"

"What?!"

Dia glared at Derek and slammed his fist into the ground. The sheer power of it caused the earth beneath them to quake and make a crater.

"I said I lost the power of the Black Dragon!!" Dia roared, "I can no longer wield that power anymore!"

Dia ripped off the white bandages that were around his right arm, and sure enough the black dragon tattoo was no longer there.

It took a moment, but Dia calmed down and continued his explanation. "That was two years ago. Since then, I've been honing my fire techniques and my mother's ability to cut dimensional time riffs…so _do not_ think you are better than me, Maison, or I will kill you."

"I never thought that, Dia." Derek said, trying to remain calm himself. The old attitude of his rival was bringing up his own rage against the demon, but he subdued it.

"So…now I'm here. I waited for you and your little army to attack Spirit World." Dia scoffed, "Shit. I didn't think you'd ever get around to doing it…but then again, you weren't of you right mind awhile ago, were you not?"

The chilling memory of Derek's darker side flooded his mind, "Yes. I lost control of myself when my wife was murdered. I have to live with that. Now. Besides mocking me and my army, why have you come here?"

Dia looked up and began gazing at the sky. "Maison…there needs to be a wielder of the Black Dragon. I honestly believe that it will be the turning point for the final battle against Darkine. If I can't master it…" He looked back at Derek and pointed at him, "You have to do it."

Derek stared at Dia, silenced. Was he hearing what he thought he was hearing? Dia Jaganshi, his sword rival back from when they were training together, wanted Derek to best him?

Dia must have noticed Derek's confusion, and sighed quietly,

"You were my father's pupil, as well, and gained adequate control over the Black Dragon. I truly believe that I have no chance to ever wield that power again. I've come to terms with that. I have found another source of power, and I will use it to defeat Darkine…"

Derek frowned at this, but let it slide. He could understand why Dia wanted to kill Darkine so badly. The monster had killed both his mother and father.

Dia continued, "…but I suppose if you had the true power of the dragon, you will provide…decent support."

Derek couldn't help but smirk. _Decent support, huh? Heh…you've changed, Dia. Fifteen years ago, you didn't want our help, and now you've come to offer it._

Dia frowned at his rival. "Are you listening, Maison?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah, I am. Alright, Dia. How do I go about facing the dragon?"

Dia frowned and closed his eyes. "You will need to enter a meditated state, leaving your physical body here. That shouldn't be a problem since we are in Spirit World. Once you do that, allow your spiritual form to find the Black Dragon, and fight it."

"Fight it?"

"Yes. I warn you now, though. You won't be able to use any of the dragon's abilities once you've entered combat with it. That was my mistake when I fought him." Derek could see Dia clenching his fists,

"I had relied to heavily on the dragon's power, and when it came time to face it, I had no other attacks that would do any good." Dia frowned for a moment, then looked back at Derek, "What about you, Maison? What abilities have you acquired that don't rely completely on the Black Dragon?"

Derek had to think for a moment. What abilities _had_ he learned? Now that he thought about it, he really didn't have that many. There was his Mortal Flame, but how much good would a fire technique do on a fire dragon?

"I…I guess I'll have to rely on my swordsmanship." Derek admitted, making Dia laugh,

"Your sword, huh? You do realize, Maison, that you only get one shot at this…and you can't bring your little human friend with you on this. This is a complete solo mission…and I warn you. If you fail, you will lose the dragon…forever."

Derek thought on this for a moment, clearly worried. The Black Dragon was his greatest asset, but to use it's full power caused him to lose his ability of reason. If he could obtain the true power of the dragon…

_But is it worth the risk?_

Dia watched as Derek pondered what to do next, his arms crossed over his chest. "Well, Maison? What're you going to do?"

Derek looked at him and a small smirk appeared on his lips.

"Alright, Dia…let's do it. I'll obtain the true power of the Black Dragon."


	13. The Black Dragon

**Chapter 13**

_**The Black Dragon**_

"I can't say that I like the idea…" Corey mumbled, taking a bite of an apple as he laid in his hospital bed.

"I agree with Corey, Derek." Liz stated, frowning over at Derek, "If you lose against the Black Dragon…"

"I know, I know…but what other choice do I have?" Derek asked, leaning against the wall of Corey's room.

After his conversation with Dia, Derek immediately went back to inform his friends what was going to happen. Corey was still bed-ridden, and would be for at least another four days, so the three of them were having their meeting in his room.

"What I want to know is the why. Why does Dia want to help you all of a sudden?" Corey asked, throwing the apple core into a nearby trash bin, "I mean, he hasn't exactly been the greatest of people, and he's been M.I.A. for the past fifteen years. Can we trust him?"

Derek frowned lightly. The thought had crossed his mind. This could a trick. Dia could be trying to get Derek into a situation that made him weaker, but…

"I don't think Dia would do that. We all know that he had lost his parents because of Darkine. He showed me proof that he has lost the ability to summon the Black Dragon, and his reasons were reasonable for telling me why he was doing this." Derek explained.

"Eh…I guess so." Corey said, shrugging slightly, "So when are you supposed to do this thing?"

"Three days from now." Derek told him, "I'm going to speak with Koenma and request a private mediation room."

"Okay…" Liz said quietly, and began to walk out of the room.

"Hey, Liz. Where're you going?" Corey asked as she was about to leave.

"I need to go and check on Cory…" Liz said simply, and left the room, leaving the two best friends alone.

"She's still angry, isn't she?" Derek asked quietly, glancing out a nearby window.

Corey looked down at his lap. "Yeah…but, she'll get over it eventually, Derek. You and her are friends and comrades. She knows this."

Derek smiled lightly, "It's hard to forgive someone for killing a loved one, Corey…"

Corey blinked a few times, "Well, yeah, but I mean, you and her were just as close as she and John were, right?"

Derek looked over at his friend and chuckled lightly, "I'm pretty sure they were more than just friends, Corey."

"Huh??" Corey asked, suddenly bewildered, "You mean…her…and John…holy crap…"

The room got quiet for a bit, before Corey spoke again,

"This sucks, man."

Derek blinked and looked back at him. "What?"

Corey frowned. "You get to go and get this awesome new power, and I'm here stuck in bed. I at least want to be able to train for a bit before this starts!"

Derek grinned at his friend. "Corey, you're going to be fine in the battle, I have no worries about that."

Corey nodded. "Yeah, I know you don't have any worries, but I sure as hell do." He sighed and then smiled lightly, "But you're right. We'll be fine."

"Yeah…just fine." Derek agreed, but only half heartedly. He was worried about the trial he would have to go through in three days. If he did lose the power of the Black Dragon…the final battle could very well be over before it started.

******

Three days passed quickly for Derek as he awaited his task that was soon to come. Corey was doing much better than anyone had expected and was moving around in his room, even though Liz still refused him to let him to far out.

Derek had arranged for a private room so that he could enter the lair of the Black Dragon through meditation. Kurama and Koenma were both as hesitant as Corey and Liz were about Derek going through this trial, knowing full well that this could be a war changing event.

"Alright…" Derek said quietly, cracking his knuckles as he glanced over at Corey, who was sitting in a nearby chair in his hospital room.

"You sure about this?" Corey asked once again.

Derek nodded. "Yeah. We don't have a choice, pal. I don't want to risk losing control of the dragon again…not in this final battle."

"I know, I know. Just double checking." Corey grumbled, standing up and holding out his hand towards his friend, "For love."

"And for war."

******

"You ready?" Dia asked, leaning against the wall outside of the room where Derek was going to enter his trance. Next to him was a plain leather sack that was full with something, but Derek didn't know what.

Derek nodded. "Yeah. Let's do it."

Derek opened the door and let himself and Dia into the room. It was just a plain room with no windows, and a blanket in the middle of the room. Dia put down the brown sack and retrieved four black candles and began setting them on each corner of the blanket.

"What's that for?" Derek asked, taking a seat in the middle of the blanket, Indian style, and then setting his katana down in front of him.

"For effect." Dia said dryly. Derek couldn't tell if he was serious or actually joking. Either way, he didn't find out.

"Alright, Maison." Dia said quietly after lighting the candles with a snap of his fingers, "Concentrate on letting go of your body, and then make sure you concentrate on your spirit going to the lair of the dragon. No mistakes. Got it?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah, I got it."

"Good luck." Dia replied in the same dry tone as before, and exited the room.

Derek exhaled slowly and closed his eyes, beginning his meditation. He could feel his demonic energy began to swirl around him, and suddenly leave his body as he concentrated on finding the Black Dragon. He felt extremely light, and then felt his feet touch the ground, even though he didn't think he had stood up. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself in the pits of Hell.

Black fire roared all around the demon's spiritual body, causing him to jump in surprise. The only safe path in this area was straight into a large temple. The temple was made of black ivory, and two large statues of dragons stood on side of the huge door.

Taking a deep breath, Derek walked forward, into the dragon's temple.

Instead of a snarling dragon, Derek found himself face to face with a frail, elderly man, sitting majestically on a throne.

His eyes were closed, and he actually looked asleep…or dead. Derek couldn't tell. He had long silver hair that waved down to the seat of the throne. He wore rich looking robes that were all black, and had a ruby red lining to them, and a pair of boots with the same design. His ears were pointed like an elf's, except they curled downward after a few inches.

_Is this…the Black Dragon?_ Derek questioned to himself, taking a few more steps forward.

Once he moved within fifteen feet of the elderly man, a pulsation of energy echoed in front of Derek. The old man's eyes suddenly shot open, causing Derek to jump back. The eyes were that of the Black Dragon's, pure blood red and full of hatred and evil. Black demonic energy began to swirl around the old man as he stood up.

"Another challenger…" Said a voice that echoed around the entire temple. Derek assumed the voice came from the old man, but his lips had not moved.

The black energy began to grow stronger and stronger, and finally it turned into black flames, masking the old man's figure before Derek.

"What the--?" Derek asked aloud, quickly withdrawing his katana out of reflex. The flames then diminished, and it wasn't an elderly man that stood in front of Derek, but a young warrior.

His hair was still silver, but it looked more youthful, as did the rest of his body. His ears stood at point now, and fangs had grown out of the man's teeth. Instead of robes, the dragon now wore a plate of black armor, with designs Derek instantly recognized as the Black Dragon Armor. The red eyes of the dragon glared Derek down, and he held out his hand. Instantly, the Black Dragon Sword appeared in his grasp, and he held it at ready for only a moment, then rushed towards Derek.

"W-wait!" Derek shouted, but his words did not reach the dragon, who was in front of the demon general in a split second, swinging the demonic sword with speed and power Derek could only dream about. It took all of Derek's abilities just to parry the move with his own blade.

The two locked eyes for only a moment, but Derek couldn't read anything from them.

_What is he?!_ Derek thought frantically, as he tried to steady his blade, but he knew only to well the power of the Black Dragon Sword, having used it often in battle. He had to pull away quickly, or his katana would be shattered.

Gritting his teeth, Derek could only jump away from the dragon. The warrior in front of him must have read his mind, because he held out his free hand and launched waves of black fire right at Derek as he was jumping away, which caught Derek off guard.

The powerful wave of black fire battered Derek in the stomach, launching him higher into the air and into the ceiling above. The Black Dragon ceased the attack, which forced Derek to fall limply to the ground below, creating a small crater in the marble flooring.

Derek slowly got onto a knee, clutching his charred stomach in pain.

_So…that's what that feels like…_ Derek thought to himself, forcing himself to his feet, _I can't get hit by that thing again or I'm…damn, what am I thinking? I can't beat him…his demonic energy is leagues over my own. He might even be stronger then Darkine…_

Derek was finally at his feet again, but did not raise his blade. The Black Dragon looked at this with curiosity, but merely shrugged it off.

"Foolish move, lowering your weapon in the middle of a fight." Echoed the voice once again, the warrior's lips not moving.

Derek didn't say anything back, but just waited to dodge. He had to at least stay alive. For everyone's sake.

The Black Dragon gave Derek another curious look, but charged forward once again to attack Derek with the flaming sword. Once again, Derek could only dodge the swift attacks that were dealt to him, the heat of the blade barely missing his skin.

_What do I do? What do I do?!_ The thought kept repeating itself inside Derek's mind as he tried to keep himself from getting killed by the ancient being.

"Why do you not try and fight back, warrior?" The dragon asked as he continued to swing his blade.

Why didn't Derek fight? It wasn't like him to just dodge, but he knew he couldn't win. So, what option was left?

Derek soon found himself backed in a corner, with the dragon's sword aimed at his chest. Derek's heartbeat was pulsing fast, and sweat dripped from his brow.

The dragon warrior stared at Derek for a few moments, but did not deliver the final blow.

"I ask again, warrior. Why do you not try and fight?"

The words pierced Derek's entire being. He didn't know how to answer, but finally, like a cool drop of rain, it came to him.

"Because I cannot defeat you."

The dragon warrior continued to stare, "Then why did you come here?"

"I came here to seek your power."

"And you did not expect to fight me?"

Derek's gaze did not leave the dragon's eyes. "I know your power, Black Dragon. I have used it to help my friends and myself for years. Once I learned that there was a way to use the power without letting my mind be overwhelmed, I had to try and obtain that ability."

He spoke his words carefully. He had to. The dragon was a being with strength unknown to Derek. One slip of the tongue and he could be destroyed. When the dragon did not speak, Derek continued,

"Your power is far greater than my own. I knew this the moment I entered your realm. I knew I would not be able to defeat you, and so now I only wish for you to lend me your true power. Let me use it to defeat Darkine. I will not fight you, Black Dragon, for I know I cannot win."

The Black Dragon continued his stare at Derek for a long time, his eyes seemingly piercing Derek's entire soul, searching for the correct answer, if there was one.

"You have darkness in your soul, warrior." The dragon finally said, lowering his weapon.

"I do." Derek agreed, the memories of his past doings entering his mind,

"I cannot give my true power to one who has such a tainted heart."

"Huh?" Derek asked, the dragon's words blowing past him. The Black Dragon, worrying about who has a pure heart or not? It didn't make sense.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but are you not the Black Dragon of the Darkness Flame?"

The dragon began to chuckle lightly, amused by Derek's words. "I am…but does that mean that I have to be a force of evil?"

Derek blinked and sheathed his blade. "I guess not, but…"

Before he could ask another question, the dragon continued to speak, the Black Dragon Sword disappearing in a puff of smoke,

"I am an ancient being, warrior. I have had countless so-called 'masters' in the past. Some were not all bad, but most have been powerful beings of evil. Those were the ones that tainted my name, and also the ones who were foolish enough to challenge me to a dual."

Slowly, the dragon's appearance began to change once again to that of the old man. In his hand, a staff of pure darkness appeared, aiding him in his walk back to his throne.

Derek slowly followed, "Black Dragon…why did you not kill me just now?"

Positioning himself in his throne, the ancient dragon looked towards Derek. His eyes had changed. They were no longer eyes of blood thirst and evil, but had a simple red outline to them. Derek soon realized that the Black Dragon was blind.

"I did not kill you because you did not try to kill me. You are the first opponent I have had do that for over ten millennium. I am impressed… especially with the tainted soul that you have."

Derek frowned. "With all due respect, my soul is tainted because of your abilities."

The dragon began to laugh, at least it sounded like it, for his lips still did not move, "Because of me, warrior? Do you blame me for letting your emotions run wild when your wife was murdered?"

"I…" Derek tried to defend himself, but the dragon waved for his silence.

"And do you also blame _me_ for killing your comrade, Jonathan Wolfe, and attacking your friend, Elizabeth Rain, and then facing off against your childhood friend, Corey Kartana, nearly killing both of you in the process!?" The dragon's voice began to grow louder and more fierce.

_He knows everything…of course he does. He's been watching the whole time._

"Derek Maison…I see a light deep down in your soul, but before you can conquer my darkness, you must first conquer your own!"

The dragon once more unleashed his powerful dark demonic energy, causing Derek to be pushed back a few feet. Before he had time to react, the darkness flame began to circle around him, encasing him in the fire.

"We shall see if you can overcome this trial, Derek Maison. If you do…then I shall considering taking you on as my…apprentice."

A small chuckle was heard echoing about the room, but before Derek was able to question it, the black flame began to scorch his entire body, causing pain so intense the moment it hit him he wished for death.

And finally, Derek found himself slipping out of consciousness, into what he was positive was oblivion.


	14. A New Search

**Chapter 14**

_**A New Search**_

"Dammit, it's been a day already!" Corey shouted, slipping on his jeans, "And I'm sick of waiting for him!"

After only four days of concentration and Kurama's help, Corey had made a complete recovery. His body was still a little sore, but he insisted that it was only because he hadn't been allowed to move in almost a week.

"Corey…you know that Derek can't be disturbed." Liz said quietly, with a bit of hesitation in her voice, "He'll be fine."

"That doesn't matter to me, Liz!" Corey retorted, throwing on his brown t-shirt and started slipping on his socks and shoes.

Liz frowned. "It does, Corey. Just let Derek be--"

"You're only saying that cause you're still pissed at him!" Corey yelled, glaring over at her.

"W-what?" Liz asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

Corey swung his arm in the air; a mix of rage and worry in his voice, "Don't play dumb with me, Liz! I know that you can't forgive Derek for killing John!"

A sudden hush filled the air as the two friends stared each other down. Neither could move an inch. Finally, a few tears rolled down Liz's cheeks.

"You're…you're right, Corey…" Liz said quietly, looking down at the ground, "I can't forgive him…not after all of that…"

Corey stared at her for awhile longer, but then finished dressing himself and stood up, and walked to stand beside her, but stared the opposite way, towards the door,

"Liz…can you blame him? The guy lost his wife to a madman…and with the dragon inside of him combined with his own emotions…"

"That isn't an excuse!" Liz shouted, clenching her fists.

"Didn't you react the same way, Liz?! If I remember right, you stabbed him in the back at the end of our fight!"

Another silence came, and lasted much longer this time as both of them let what was said sink in. Before Liz could have a chance to respond, Corey spoke again,

"Liz…the past is the past. Derek is trying to fix what problem he has by bettering himself. If we want to win this war, we have to believe in each other."

After that, Corey began to leave the room, but before he could, Liz touched his shoulder,

"What are you going to do now?"

Corey glanced back at her and smiled, "I'm going to find a way to better myself."

******

Ten minutes later, Corey was walking down the halls of the Spirit Palace, trying to find the room where Derek was doing his trial. He had learned where the room was from a few of the workers in Spirit World.

Once he found his way to the room, he also found himself face to face with Dia Jaganshi, arms crossed and leaning next to the door to Derek, a cigarette between his lips, half gone.

"Well, well…if it isn't the human." Dia commented nonchalantly.

Corey frowned. "I'm pretty sure there is no smoking around here."

Dia chuckled. "Who's going to care? I doubt the dearly departed can get lung cancer."

"Is Derek in there?"

"He is."

"Let me see him."

"Can't let you do that."

"Why not?"

"No humans allowed."

"Do you want me to kick your ass?"

The two were nearly nose to nose at this point. Corey was glaring, but Dia kept a smug look on his face, ashing his cigarette with a simple tap of his tongue.

Corey took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest, "Why do you care so much that Derek gets control over the Black Dragon?"

Dia smirked. "I don't in the slightest. I already told Maison that if he fails, I'll just have to go up against Darkine myself."

"Derek said that you lost the ability to use the Dragon of the Darkness Flame…what makes you think you stand any chance of beating Darkine without it?" Corey asked curiously.

Dia's smirk widened. "You believe me to be weak, Kartana? I am the son of both Hiei _and _Mukuro…do not think that I was not blessed with my mother's abilities as well as my father's. That is what I have been working on these past five years.

"When the time comes for you and Maison to fulfill your so-called 'prophecy,' I will be waiting for it to fail…and that is when I will face Darkine."

Corey watched Dia carefully, wondering if he was bluffing or not. Deciding it would be best not to start a fight with the supposed ally, he changed the subject,

"How long is this thing supposed to take?"

Dia shrugged. "Dunno…time moves differently in the Black Dragon's realm. For Maison, the battle could take weeks in it's world."

"I see…"

Without another word, Corey turned away from Dia and headed down the hallway once again, continuing his journey to Koenma's office, where he was hopefully going to get some answers. He didn't know how busy Koenma would be, but maybe he would have time to point Corey in the right direction to his new goal.

******

"Good afternoon, Corey. Feeling better?" Koenma asked, smiling and sipping at a cup of tea.

As expected, mounds of paperwork had cluttered the newly appointed king's desk. A few ogre's, workers in the Spirit World, were walking about, taking some and replacing the stacks with even more.

"Yeah, loads. Do you have a minute, Koenma? I have a few questions." Corey requested, watching the ogres walk back and forth.

Koenma smirked slightly. "Yes, I suppose I can spare a minute or so." Koenma stood up and walked to the back of the office, Corey following in his wake. After a few feet, they came upon a balcony looking over all of Spirit World and the River Styx.

"Nice view." Corey commented, letting out a low whistle.

Koenma nodded, "Yes. My father used to come out here to ponder things."

"You doing okay with that, sir?" Corey asked, a little concerned.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Now. What is it you wish to talk about, Corey?"

Corey nodded and cleared his throat, "Well, you know that Derek is undergoing a trial right now to gain complete control over the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, right?"

Koenma nodded, slightly urging Corey to continue.

"Well, I have to figure that, since we're going to be fighting Darkine soon, and considering the fact that Derek is training now--"

"--that you should find a new way to hone your own strengths?" Koenma asked, finishing Corey's statement.

"Yeah…" Corey said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Any ideas?"

Koenma smiled and looked at Corey straight in his eyes, "Corey, I am not a warrior. That is why I appoint Spirit Detectives like Derek, Liz, and yourself. I'm sorry, but I really can't help you with this problem."

Corey nodded slowly, looking a little disappointed, "Okay…I guess it was a long shot, but it was worth a shot, right?"

Koenma nodded and placed his hand on Corey's shoulder, "Corey, you are one of the strongest humans I have ever met or seen in action. Be proud of your strength."

Corey smirked a bit, "That means a lot, sir, but it doesn't help against Darkine."

"I understand. Here…" Koenma placed a hand in his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, "Take this to the eighteenth floor, room number 34."

Corey blinked and took the slip of paper and stared at it, then back at Koenma, "Okay…and what is in that room?"

Koenma smiled, "That is the archive room. There you will find all the past documents of previous Spirit Detectives. Perhaps, with close study, you can find a way to develop a new ability."

"A new…ability? How can I do that?" Corey asked, bewildered.

Before Koenma had a chance to answer, a blue ogre came running up to the balcony,

"Koenma, sir! We need you to finish signing these documents! Your desk is getting overloaded!"

Koenma turned and glared, "Dammit, Jorge, can't you morons do anything without my help?" He sighed and looked back at Corey, "Back to work, I guess…I enjoyed our talk, Corey, and please take your time in looking through the archives."

And with that, the king of the Spirit World ran back inside, shouting out the blue ogre named Jorge as he did.

Corey blinked a bit and couldn't help but snicker, "Damn…I wouldn't wanna be in his shoes…" He looked down at the sheet of paper and shrugged,

"Guess it couldn't hurt."

******

Before Corey ventured into the archives of the Spirit World database, he realized that he hadn't gone and checked up on the troops once since they had taken back Spirit World.

_I suppose being the top general, I should at least see how the troops are doing. That's the least I can do._

Corey exited Spirit World and walked down the long path towards where the Rebel Army was camped out. He felt a little bad that they had to stay outside of Spirit World, but it did make sense.

As he walked, he noticed a couple more spirits floating in from the Living World, and couldn't help but smile. They had finally done it. They made it so that the spirits of the lost could make their way into Spirit World and start their lives in the afterlife…or whatever.

He was just wondering if John or Jade had made it back when his answer floated up to him.

"Hello, Corey."

Corey's eyes widened as the ghostly figure of John Wolfe appeared in front of him, smiling softly towards him. He was wearing the same outfit he had worn a year ago on the night he died, and Corey could see the fatal wound that Derek had given him through his chest.

"John…" Corey finally managed to utter out, in a little bit of disbelief that he was standing in front of his deceased friend and ally.

"You look well, Corey. I'm glad to see that you, Liz and Derek managed to retake Spirit World." John said, still smiling.

Corey grinned lightly and scratched the back of his head, "Yeah…me too. I was hoping to get to see you off to, err…the other side…"

John laughed a bit. "Yes, we'll go with that. It also pleases me that you were able to snap Derek out of his…crisis."

Corey frowned lightly and looked down. "John…please don't blame Derek too much for what happened. I mean, he lost his wife and--" before he could continue, John raised a hand to stop him.

"I understand, Corey…and I feel no ill will towards Derek. I can't imagine what he went through all that time. What's done is done, right?"

Corey nodded and smiled slightly, "Yeah…I just wish Liz could understand that."

"I know you do…but I do know that Liz will figure that out in her own time." John replied, and reached his hand out.

Corey grinned and grabbed it, well, tried to. John was transparent, after all. Corey jumped a bit.

John laughed. "Couldn't resist."

Corey glared. "Bastard…" but smiled after a moment, "Take care of yourself, John."

The ghost smiled. "I will…and make sure to take care of Liz for me, alright?"

Corey nodded, and the ghost of his friend began to go past him, when Corey suddenly remembered something,

"John, wait!" Corey shouted, and the ghost stopped, "Is…is what Derek said true? Were you and Liz…you know…"

John didn't turn around, but replied very quietly. "Don't let her live in the past, Corey. It is the future you all need to worry about now. See you when I see you."

And John Wolfe left to find his afterlife, probably waiting for his friends to join him once it was their own time.

Corey smiled a bit, feeling a little choked up at the conversation he had just had. Although part of him wanted to see her, he almost was afraid to see Jade Maison. Afraid of what she might say.

Or if she really did blame him for her death.

She said she hadn't in her last words, but now…maybe. He just didn't want to face her. He could barely look at her when he saw her on top of Garrett's mountain.

Corey let his thoughts go as he continued walking towards the rebel camp, hands in his pockets and his eyes gazing down at the ground. It took him ten more minutes to reach the camp, and when he did he caught the attention of most of the rebels.

"General Kartana! How are you doing, sir?" Colonel Evan Ray, a friend of his from when he first came into this time, asked.

Corey smiled and shook the man's hand once he got close enough, "I'm alive, aren't I? How are things going here?"

Evan shrugged. "Fine, I suppose. Most of our troops are getting a little restless, but that's to be suspected, considering where we're going next."

"Yeah. Next up is Darkine." Corey responded, but grinned at his soldier to give support, "No worries, though. We'll take him down."

"I know you will,"

"What were the causalities like after our battle? I hate to admit it, but I've kinda been out of commission the past week." Corey asked, crossing his arms.

"We lost three hundred and thirty-eight soldiers. Not to sound cold, but we got lucky, considering what we were up against." Evan reported.

Corey nodded. "Yes, I agree. We could've been hit worse. I'm glad most of our men got out okay."

Evan agreed with his own nod. "Corey, do you know when we are going to be leaving?"

"Well," Corey thought for a moment, "Lord Koenma said that it would take three weeks to get everything in order for him and his men to start the search for Darkine, then anywhere between a day to a week to actually find it."

Evan nodded, "It's been a week already, so two to three weeks until we leave?"

"That's right. Evan, I want you to start running drills and run scenarios." Corey ordered, "It will be me, Derek, and Liz who will be going into Darkine's Keep and taking him on there, but I'm sure his fortress will be heavily guarded from the outside."

Evan saluted, "Yes, sir…but what about the other demon who appeared recently? Dia Jaganshi?"

Corey frowned a bit and crossed his arms over his chest. "Dia is an unknown party. I don't know if he will assist us or not, but I'm sure he'll be wanting to come into the keep, as well. Don't try to stop him."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Spread the word. In two or three weeks, we'll be fighting to end this war."

"Yes, sir!" With a final salute, Evan went off to relay Corey's orders, leaving Corey smiling slightly,

"I promise…we'll end this."

******

After spending a few more hours with the Rebel troops, Corey headed back to the Spirit Palace to search the archives as Koenma had suggested he do.

He passed the room where Derek was still in, with Dia still standing next to it, not allowing any visitors. The two merely glanced at one another, but did not acknowledge the other any more than that. Corey didn't trust Dia. He wasn't so much worried about his intentions with Derek and his new training, but the matter that Dia looked down on anyone who wasn't near his strength. He might end up getting to excited and kill some of the rebel troops while trying to get to Darkine.

Corey wouldn't let that happen.

He continued through the colossal palace, searching for the archive room. He hadn't seen Liz at all since their argument this morning, but he wasn't too worried. He did, however, wonder if she also saw John before he entered the afterlife. If she did, he hoped it wasn't too hard for her. Seeing a lost love must be tough for anyone. He only wished he could understand how that would be like…just like when Derek saw Jade on the mountain. He wondered if he would see his own parents before they crossed over.

_Probably not…_ Corey thought to himself, _It was mere chance that I got to see John. It's good enough for me knowing that they will be able to cross over now._

After a bit more searching, (another twenty minutes) Corey found the room he was looking for. On the door read "Archives" so Corey knew he had to be in the right place. He glanced around for a second and let himself in, gasping a bit when he entered.

The room itself had to be at least a hundred feet tall, with five levels and shelves filled with books and records scattered everywhere. The room seemed to stretch on for over five hundred feet.

"How…the hell…" Corey didn't even know what to say. He began to walk around, not knowing where to start his search.

"Hello?" Corey called out, hoping to find someone who could help him out.

"Yes?" Came a voice to Corey's side. He turned to see a short green ogre staring up at him with half oval glasses tipped on his nose and three horns on his forehead.

"Uh…hi. Koenma said I could browse through the old Spirit Detective archives." Corey said, really unsure as to what he should be asking.

The ogre nodded. "Yes. Lord Koenma sent a messenger over earlier saying you would be coming. You are Corey Kartana, are you not?"

Corey nodded. "Yes, sir. And you are?"

"My name is Hanson. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kartana." The ogre said politely, extending his grubby hand out for Corey, who shook it softly.

"Just Corey will do."

"Very well, then. Please follow me."

Hanson led Corey through aisles of bookshelves, and up two flights of stairs until finally they reached where Corey figured they needed to be.

"This whole aisle is dedicated to past Spirit Detectives. It starts here," Hanson pointed where they were at now, "And ends with your first mission against the demon lord Shura, all the way at the end." He pointed to the very last shelf, over thirty shelves away.

Corey's eyes shot open. "Are you saying that there are _that_ many records from past Spirit Detectives?! How many detectives have there been??"

"A total of seven, including yourself, Derek Maison, and Elizabeth Rain." Hanson replied calmly.

"There are that many shelves for just us and a few others?" Corey asked, bewildered.

"Indeed. We do thorough work when it comes to details from the videos that we see, and then archive the documents."

Corey blinked. "Videos? Can't I, you know, just watch those?"

"Impossible."

"Why's that?"

Hanson cleared his throat. "All the videos are reused for financial purposes."

Corey glared at the tiny ogre. "You have to be screwing with me."

Hanson chuckled. "Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way, you do not have access for the videos so I suggest you start skimming. Each log is marked accordingly, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding what you are after. Good luck, Corey Kartana."

And with that, the librarian ogre left to do whatever it was he had to do.

"Son of a--" Corey sighed and gave up. The only thing left to do now was to start reading. As he began to skim the log titles, he wondered how Derek was fairing against the Black Dragon.

_Either way…it has to be better than looking through hundreds of freaking logs…_


	15. The Trial

**Chapter ****15**

_**The **__**Trial**_

_I wonder if my spiritual body dies…if my body would turn into a zombie. Hehe…zombie… Murray, Corey's zombie head…wait. I found that stupid a few months ago. Why the hell am I laughing about it at a time like this? And why can't I see anything? Oh. My eyes are closed._

Derek opened his eyes slowly, the light from the sun blinding him a bit. Wait. Sun? He was in a black inferno not five minutes ago. At least his spiritual body was. His actual body was in Spirit World right now, in a room with black candles in it, where he had meditated into his spiritual body.

_When did I get outside?_

He was lying down, but no longer in pain like he had been before. He was staring up at a blue sky, the sun directly above him.

_Jeez…I haven't seen a day like this sense…hold on. A day like this? Spirit World has a purple sky, not blue. This is…this is the Human World!_

Derek jumped up quickly, but it was at that moment he realized something was different. His body was lighter. He took a moment to examine himself, and realized his new found weight loss wasn't the only thing that was different.

He was shorter than he had been, and his hair was a spiked up, similar to Corey's. He no longer had facial hair, and scars that should have been there no longer existed. He was wearing a pair of jeans and skating shoes, with a dark blue t-shirt that had the logo of The Rolling Stones on the front.

He was fourteen years old again.

"No way…" Derek said aloud, but he noticed even his voice had changed. "Jesus, I'm going through puberty again!"

He paused for a moment, and then began to laugh. Why was this funny?

_Oh, crap. Even my maturity level has gone down…_

He began to walk around, trying to figure out where he was…or even when. This had to be Human World. The air itself was filled with the scent of humans and slight bits of spiritual energy. The surroundings were all of human's world. Nothing demonic about it.

_What is all this?_

Suddenly, he heard a yell from off in the distance. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't figure out why. It was definitely someone he knew, but still…

"Doesn't matter! I gotta help him!" Derek shouted, and began to run towards where he heard the voice. It wasn't too far off, only about a quarter of a mile, but it took longer than it should have. The draw backs of his younger body: he wasn't even close to his present body's state.

_Back then, I was only a D-Class at best… _Derek felt himself thinking as he ran.

Finally, he slid to a stop as he spotted seven large demons with horns atop of their head and wearing loincloths circling around a human boy, who had been backed up to a large rock formation with nowhere to go.

"Stand back, jerks!" The boy shouted, "Don't make me kick your asses!"

The closest of the demons laughed, "You may have taken out a few of our brothers, but there is no way you could take on all of us, kid!"

The boy grinned, "Wanna bet?" Spiritual Energy began to arise from the boy's body. It, like Derek's own, was only that of a D-Class. The same could be said about the demons surrounding him, but that made the odds still 7-1.

_Well, I guess that means I should help!_ Derek thought to himself, grinning.

Just as the boy let his fist pummel into the closest demon's stomach, Derek leapt into the air and gave his own powerful kick to the one farthest from the human.

"Who're you?!" The boy shouted, but kept his attention on the demons.

"The guy who is saving you, that's who!" Derek shouted back, elbowing the next demon in the abdomen.

"Works for me!" The kid grinned and upper cut the demon he had just punched, causing him to fall to the ground. His spiritual energy began to grow even stronger as he fought on, as did Derek's own. It was like the two teenager's energies were playing off one another.

Finally, after only a couple cuts and bruises later, the two boys had emerged victorious, with the survivors of the demon group running for their lives.

"Yeah! Come back when you've grown some balls!" The boy shouted cockily, grinning widely as he did.

"You're a cocky one." Derek commented with a smirk.

The boy looked over to him. "So? I think we both have the right to be cocky, don't we? I mean, we just pummeled those demons into the ground."

"To be honest with you, I'm a demon, too." Derek said, although slightly regretted it for a moment, wondering if he would scare the boy, but he merely shrugged.

"I figured you were."

Derek blinked. "Why's that?"

The boy pointed at him, "You're energy…its red. All the demons I have met have the same color. I have blue energy, so I just assume that red is demon, blue is human."

Derek blinked and laughed a bit. "What you have is called Spirit Energy. Mine is Demon Energy."

The human boy blinked and then grinned. "Oh! Okay. That makes sense; I guess…what's your name, anyway?"

"Derek Maison. Yours?" Derek asked, extending his arm for the teenager to shake.

He did and grinned, "Corey Kartana. Nice to meetcha!"

The world around Derek began to quickly dissolve and turn white, leaving Derek to spin around in limbo.

_Duh…of course! That was the first time I ever met Corey! Heh…damn we were young back then…and that place was our old Meeting Spot, up on the mountain in town…_

The world formed around him again, and himself in the middle of a desert. His wooden training blade was in his hand, and he was staring face to face with Kurama, who was holding a bamboo stick.

"Derek." Kurama said quietly. "If you even want to consider defeating Shura, you not only need to hone your skills in fire, but also in swordsmanship."

"I know…" Derek said, breathing heavily. Why was that?

_Oh yeah…he and I have been training non-stop for the past seven hours in this scorching heat…_

"Begin!" Kurama shouted, and rushed towards Derek with movement so fast Derek could only parry the attack by moving his blade horizontal and above his head. Kurama swiftly moved the blade away and swung, hitting Derek square in the side.

"Shit!" Derek swore, grabbing his side with his free move.

"Don't let your guard down!" Kurama roared, swinging the blade once again and hitting Derek in his hand.

"Ow! Crap, Kurama!" Derek shouted, jumping back.

"Do you think Shura will let you stop and rest in the middle of your battle?" Kurama asked, frowning.

"Of course not…" Derek grumbled. Kurama sighed and walked over to him, putting his hand down on his head,

"You're a good kid, Derek, but I can tell you're easily flustered, just like Corey. You need to work on that if you ever want to learn true discipline."

Derek blinked and nodded. "Alright, Kurama." He held his sword at ready again, "Let's do it again!"

Just like with Corey, the world around him began to dissolve.

_Why am I seeing all this again?_ Derek thought as he floated, _Is this…the Black Dragon's doing? Oh yeah…that's right. I'm in a trial right now, but it doesn't make sense to me. I'm not fighting anything strong…just reliving memories…_

The world came back into existence again, and Derek found himself on top of a rooftop. He glanced around, and then realized where he was.

The roof of the place where he and Jade first kissed.

Unlike all the other two times Derek had been transferred into his memories, he was watching from a third person point of view. He watched as both Jade and himself jumped onto the roof and began to talk.

"Well, I'm glad it was you who followed me, Derek." Jade said. Derek could remember all of this. How sweet her voice was…

"Yea, well, I had to see you again, after all." The younger Derek replied, also finding himself with a small smile on his face.

"Oh? And why's that?" she asked, walking towards him.

"Well...I don't know. I just wanted too, okay?" he regarded.

The real Derek sighed quietly and closed his eyes.

_Dragon…I don't want to see this. Please, let me go somewhere else._

It seemed as though the Black Dragon heard him, and both Jade and the younger Derek disappeared, and in their place appeared the dragon himself.

"Why are you showing me all of this?" Derek asked, finding that, unknown to him, he had been changed back into his present day form.

"I needed to see your past, Derek Maison." The dragon replied, his mouth still not moving.

"Why?" Derek questioned again, "Don't you know it?"

The dragon shook his head. "No. I know up to the very point where you first used me, back in the Demon Realm Tournament against Dia Jaganshi."

"Oh…" Derek said, "That makes sense…but I still don't know the why."

The Black Dragon smirked and walked over to Derek, "I needed to see what you were like before I became your…ability."

"You didn't want to see me in actual combat?" Derek asked.

"I've already seen everything, Derek Maison." The ancient being said calmly, "I merely wanted you to see what you used to be like. When you first met Corey Kartana, trained with Kurama the Spirit Fox, and met your life love."

Derek felt his fists clench slightly. "Why, though? Why would I need to see all that? They're all here," He tapped his head, "In my memories."

"Are they?" The Black Dragon asked.

"Of course!" Derek retorted, feeling the heat rise in his body.

"I do not believe you are telling the truth, Derek Maison. These memories have been buried in your subconscious for quite some time now." The dragon reported calmly, eyes closed.

Derek blinked a few times. Was that true? No…of course he remembered all those times. Those were better times. Even though he knew Shura had been coming, he still enjoyed his training sessions with Kurama. He was always overwhelmed the day he met Corey. He cherished the day that he met Jade…

_But…I don't think of those days anymore…those days are gone…_

The conclusion hit Derek hard, and he slumped to his knees.

_Am I…trying to forget those old days? I know I'm trying to move on…look onto the future, but…_

"Are you even doing that, Derek Maison?" The Black Dragon asked.

"Stop reading my thoughts…" Derek said bitterly, rising back to his feet, "What do you care, anyway?"

The Black Dragon walked up to Derek and stared down at him. It was only until now that the warrior realized how much larger the dragon was to him. Derek had to strain his neck just to look into his eyes.

"What kind of man would you be like without those memories?"

"What?" Derek asked, confused at the question.

"Where would you be today, had those events not occurred? If you had never met Corey Kartana…if you never trained under the Spirit Fox, Kurama…if you had never met the love of your life, Jade? What kind of man would you be?"

"I…I don't know." Derek admitted.

"You would be dead, Derek Maison."

"What?!"

"The darkness in your heart would have fluctuated far beyond your control. You would have slipped into madness…that is what would have happened."

"I don't believe you!" Derek shouted, "It's true that Corey, Jade, and the rest of them have made me a better person, but that doesn't mean I would have been evil or anything!"

"Oh, really?" The dragon took a step back and raised his hand. Black flames began to creep out of his skin, and before Derek had time to react, they began to scorch his body. He began to feel the same pain as he did the last time this happened.

"See what becomes of you, if you were to never meet your friends…" The rest of the dragon's words were cut out by Derek's own cries of pain.

******

A young man ran through a scorching desert, with only a tanned cloak to block out the suns hot rays. A blade was sheathed carefully to the man's side. His face could not be seen; the cloak's hood making sure it would not be burnt from the heat…

The man was heading towards a small fortress in the middle of an oasis. The fortress was made entirely out of stone, with the oasis at its front. Outside, the place was guarded by dozens of demons, the strongest the warlord of the fortress could find…

The warlord himself was a demon filled with hatred for all humans. The humans who had killed his mother when he was a child. The humans who drove his father into madness, and then left his own son in this world alone…

The young man who was crossing the desert finally found himself in front of the stone fortress and unsheathed his blade, which glimmered with spiritual energy. It caught the demon guard's attention and they charged at him. The young man quickly engaged in battle…

The demon warlord took no time in preparing himself for battle. He grabbed his blood stained katana and began to walk out of his quarters, feeling the intruder's spiritual energy overwhelming his own guards. He'd have to act fast if he wanted to prevent himself from finding more troops…not that it would matter soon. Not if his plan worked…

The young man finished off the final demon and swung his blade, letting the blood fly off of it. His cloak had been tattered to the point where it no longer served a purpose, so he threw it off of himself…

The demon warlord stepped out of his dark fortress, and his details are finally shown. He is a man in his later teens, a surprise to the human who was expecting an older demon. His hair is jet black and very long, tied at the end with a red bow, and a beard of the same color. He wore a suit of armor that could have been worn by a samurai of Japan. He had two different color eyes: the right, green; his left, blue. He was build was strong, as was the demonic energy that was emitting out of him…

The young man, who had just let his cloak fly off in the coming wind, grinned lightly at the demon he faced. This young man was only seventeen years old, with hazel eyes and spiked brown hair. He had a goatee on his chin, which matched his hair, but with a slight shade of red to it. He wore a tan jacket, with a white shirt underneath, and a pair of blue jeans. A pair of black boots were strapped to his feet, with a pair of leather gloves of the same color on his hands, which gripped his sword.

"So…you are Derek Maison, the warlord of this fortress?" The young man asked.

"I am…and you must be Corey Kartana, the young Spirit Detective who has been driving fear into the hearts of demons."

"Guilty as charged…and speaking of guilty, by the power invested in me by Spirit World, I'm to place you under arrest." Corey said coolly, his grin never changing.

"Is that right?" Derek replied, smirking still, "And if I refuse?"

"Then I'll have to kill you."

"I'll accept that as a challenge, then."

"They never do it the easy way. Damn, demons."

And the two warriors ran at one another, swords at ready and preparing to kill one another…

Corey Kartana stood over the lifeless body of Derek Maison, his sword stabbed through the demon's chest. Corey, whose arm had been severed off in the battle, had barely come out alive. He stumbled backwards and fell onto his backside. Barely able to move, he grabbed what looked like a cell phone out of his pocket.

"This is Spirit Detective Corey Kartana. Mission status: complete. Target: Eliminated. I need a cleanup crew here, now, and a transport to pick me up. Over." He put the phone away and looked down at the deceased demon, withdrawing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his jacket pocket and lit up, exhaling smoke,

"I really hate demons…"

Ten years later, that same young man would lead an army to destroy the leaders of the Demon World, having found the entrance to the world during his time as Spirit Detective. He was killed after battling ten S-Class apparitions in melee combat. Spirit World was blamed for the incident, and Lord Koenma took the fall…

Five years after that, a being known as Darkine appeared and killed the leaders of the Demon World and the Human World. He soon took control over Spirit World, and controlled all three worlds for the rest of eternity, making himself into a God with the powers of Spirit World…

******

"That's a lie!!" Derek screamed, his demonic energy exploding around him. The Black Dragon took a step back, but was smiling, "There is no way…no way that that would happen! I wouldn't fight Corey like that! He wouldn't try to take on all of Demon World! Darkine won't win!"

"But it is all true…" The Black Dragon said calmly, "The day you and Corey Kartana became friends, you changed the fate of a lot of people, including yourselves. That is how Darkine's prophecy was formed. Why do you think it was just the two of you in the prophecy? Just because you two are strong?"

"I…" Derek didn't know what to say there.

"It all makes sense, doesn't it, Derek Maison? The prophecy was created because some force knew that the entire world's fate rested on you two from the very beginning. You and Corey Kartana were destined to fight side-by-side, and if that destiny had broken, all the worlds would be doomed for certain."

Silence followed directly after that. Derek just stood there for a moment, trying to comprehend and let everything he just learned sink in. Before he had time to say anything else, the dragon spoke once more,

"Darkness had always been in your heart, Derek Maison. It is in your bloodline. Darkine knew this, and that is why he sent his assassin to kill your wife, knowing only too well what would occur afterwards. It had nothing to do with me…"

"Black Dragon." Derek said, actually interrupting the ancient creature, "I understand what you are saying. I…I believe you, but I am no longer like that. I refuse to be. No matter what happens, no matter what trials I must go through, I will never, _ever_, let that darkness take me over again. I will help Corey, Liz, and the rest of my soldiers win this war against Darkine, no matter what! I don't care if you do not think that I can use your power because there is evil within me. I'll do it without it. I have my friends, and my son…and that is all the motivation I need!!"

Both the dragon and Derek stared into one another's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, when finally the ancient being broke into a smile.

"That, Derek, was the answer I was looking for."

"Huh?"

"You passed my trial. I will allow you to become my apprentice."

"J-just like that?" Derek asked, bewildered.

"You've shown me patience, and you've shown me that you are nothing like your ancestors, and because of that, I will grant you my power."

The Black Dragon walked up to Derek and rested his hand on his shoulder and his eyes suddenly turned jet black. Derek felt both their bodies begin to pulsate rapidly, and the dragon's body soon turned transparent. He slowly walked forward and into Derek, who in turn felt an enormous amount of dark energy enter his soul.

Having no other choice but to expel some of the dark power, Derek let his demonic energy explode with black flames which flared around his body and closed his eyes. To his surprise, the Black Dragon was staring at him in his mind, smiling.

"_You have done well, Derek Maison. Use my power to defeat Darkine and protect your friends. Fulfill the prophecy with Corey Kartana, and do not sway from your path…no matter who you meet in Darkine's lair…_"

******

Dia Jaganshi's eyes suddenly shot open as he felt the sudden surge of power coming from inside of the room where Derek meditated.

_So…he did do it…_

He waited patiently for the power to settle, and walked into the room, where he found Derek panting heavily on the ground, his shirt having been burnt off and black scorch marks running down his chest and arms.

"How does it feel, Maison?" Dia asked, keeping his voice steady.

Derek slowly looked up at him with eyes that gave Dia a start. His left eye, which was usually blue, was now a dark red color, with a black flame circling around the iris. A small grin appeared on the demon's lips.

"I feel…better now. It's different…it's like having another person being inside of me."

Dia stared at Derek for a moment and a small smirk appeared on his own lips. "This doesn't change anything, Maison. I still will be the one who defeats Darkine." Dia turned around and began to walk out the door, and then in a quieter voice said, "At least now, though…you will provide adequate back-up."

Derek blinked a few times and couldn't help but give a small chuckle after Dia left the room. He rose from the ground and looked at his arms and chest.

_It really did a number on my body, though…that's for sure._

Derek very carefully left the room, only to find Kurama standing outside now.

Derek blinked. "Kurama? What's up?"

Kurama examined Derek and smiled slightly, "I see you did what Dia Jaganshi could not. Congratulations, Derek."

"Thanks, Kurama…whoa." Derek suddenly fell forward, and was quickly caught by Kurama.

"You will need rest now, Derek…" Kurama said quietly, "The toll on your body was quite extravagant."

"…noted…" Derek mumbled before passing out in the red-headed demon's arms. Kurama chuckled softly and carefully took Derek to the infirmary for the second time in a week, letting the general's body prepare for the battle that would soon come.

"I can only hope Corey is doing what he needs to do to prepare for the upcoming battle."


	16. A New Technique

**Chapter 1****6**

_**A New Technique**_

"So Derek completed his training, huh?" Corey asked, looking over at his sleeping friend, the burn marks on his body covered up carefully with bandages.

"Yes. To be honest, I'm surprised. No one in known history has done what Derek just did." Kurama replied, sipping on a cup of tea.

"Does Liz know?" Corey asked, glancing over at the fox demon.

Kurama shook his head. "No, I don't believe so. Last I checked she was at your soldier's camp, and no kind of energy can escape the palace's walls."

"That explains why she didn't come running like I had when Derek's energy exploded." Corey commented.

Kurama nodded. "Correct. By the way, Corey, how go your studies? Koenma told me that you were looking at the archives for information on a new ability."

Ever since he began looking through the logs, Corey had not left the archives room for a long period of time. He started his search with Yusuke, his former master, and was only just finishing up his reports after the two days he'd been in there.

Corey scratched the back of his head. "So-so, I guess. I found one technique that I could try and learn, but I don't know if I can."

"Which one is that? One of Yusuke's, I presume."

Corey nodded. "Yeah. The Spirit Wave."

Kurama blinked. "Genkai's Spirit Wave. If I remember correctly, Yusuke never completed that training, and with both of them gone…"

Corey sighed. "I know, it's a long shot, especially with me only having a couple more weeks to learn it. Do you have any suggestions, Kurama? Or could you help me train?"

Kurama put his hand to his chin and began to think, and then looked back at Corey, "I could teach you the proper stance for the technique, but besides that not much else."

"Oh…" Corey said, sounding disappointed.

Kurama smiled a bit, "Why don't you try something else, Corey?"

"Like what?"

"Well…" Kurama began thinking again, "Why don't you try creating a variation of the technique."

"A variation?" Corey asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes. Making an ability similar, but with your own mix. I believe you created a couple of techniques while you were off training, correct?"

Corey thought back for a moment, "Yeah…the Spirit Gunblade and the Double-Barreled Spirit Gun…I guess I could do that. Thanks, Kurama. Hey, if Derek wakes up, come get me, alright?"

"Of course." The demon said, nodding.

"Thanks, pal. Later!"

******

Liz sighed quietly as she ended her meeting with the colonels of the army. She was tired, both mentally and physically. She had a quick work out and then went straight into business with her soldiers, and it was only noon Human World time.

"I can see now why John started smoking…" She said quietly, a small smile on her lips.

_John…I really wish you were here with me right now. I need your help…if Derek hadn't killed you…_

_"Liz…the past is the past. Derek is trying to fix what problem he has by bettering himself. If we want to win this war, we have to believe in each other." _Corey's voice echoed through her mind as she thought about what had happened.

"Corey…I know you're right, but still…I can't forgive Derek that easily." The female general sighed and walked out of the tent where the meeting was held and began to walk back to the palace.

"Right now, I need to think about what I can do to help win our fight with Darkine…" Liz thought aloud, "But, according to Corey, how I can help is forgiving Derek…dammit all!"

Liz stopped walking and sighed, staring up at the sky. As she gazed, she saw a few more spirits floating into Spirit World.

"But…if it hadn't been for Derek, we wouldn't be here in Spirit World right now. Darkine would still have it…I'm so confused." She began to continue walking towards the palace, her mind cluttered with things she needed to do, when she saw Dia Jaganshi walking towards her.

"Well, well. If it isn't the other tag along. Hello, Rain." Dia said, arms folded at his chest, and a cigarette between his lips.

"Dia…what are you doing? I thought you were watching over Derek?" Liz asked, slightly confused.

Dia scoffed a bit. "Didn't get the memo, did you? Maison finished. He received the power of the Black Dragon."

"What?! He did?" Liz exclaimed.

"Glad to see I wasn't the only one who was surprised." Dia said, laughing coolly, "I didn't think Maison had it in him."

Liz frowned. "Of course he did! Derek is…" She found herself pausing, and Dia picked up on this.

"He's what? I thought you hated Maison, Rain. Didn't he kill that other general of yours? What was his name? Joan…something."

"John!" Liz shouted, feeling herself getting angrier at Dia's presence, "His name was Jonathan Wolfe!"

Dia smirked a bit and spit out his cigarette, "Right, right. Wolfe. Yeah, I hear Maison did a number on him. If it wasn't for that human brat Kartana, you'd be dead too, wouldn't you?"

"I'm warning you, Dia…" Liz growled, her fists clenched.

"I'm just stating the truth. Don't get so bitchy." Dia said calmly, raising his hands in the air, still smirking, "But you know I'm right. I hope Maison doesn't lose it again. Not with this new power or you all might be--"

A sudden punch to the face caused Dia to stop speaking and stumble slightly. Liz was glaring at him furiously, "Listen here, Dia Jaganshi! I…I trust Derek, okay? I know he won't become what he was again! Corey believes that, and I believe him!"

Dia rubbed his now sore cheek and smirked, "Then why don't you tell him that?"

Liz suddenly lost her breathe. Why didn't she tell Derek now? That is what she felt, deep down, that she could trust him, wasn't it? She could trust Corey's judgment…and Derek's motives.

Without a second word to Dia, Liz ran off towards the palace, leaving the son of Hiei to watch her, sighing,

"Humans and their emotions…"

******

Once Liz learned that Derek was still asleep, she calmed down a bit. Thinking about it, what was she going to say to him? She was still hurting about what had happened that fateful night when Derek went berserk on the base, but she wanted to apologize for the way she acted, too. Derek had, and had proven himself time and time again that he was loyal to the Rebel Army.

But he had killed John…

He had killed the man _she_ loved…

"Derek…" She said aloud while in his room, watching him rest. He looked so peaceful, sleeping there, just like from before all of this happened…but there was a new power in him now, she knew it, and it was that power that was going to help them win the war.

"I'll tell you later, Derek…that I forgive you…" She said quietly, and exited the room.

******

"Okay…concentrate my spirit energy into my hand…" Corey said aloud, connecting the tips of his fingers into an orb like shape, "And let it form into a physical state…"

It had been another week since Derek had first entered his coma-like sleep, and he was still out of it. The burns had healed, for the most part. Another Black Dragon tattoo had appeared on his body, but this one was connected from his arm all the way down his chest and abdomen. Corey went in and checked on him every so often, but he had other things to do now other then worry about his sleeping friend.

Slowly, his spirit energy began to manifest into its physical state. He was using the image of the Spirit Gun as a guide, but into all of his fingers, and then into his palm. It seemed simple enough, but up until now he had only been able to do it with two fingers…the Double Barreled Spirit Gun…but this was going to be something new. Something far more powerful than that…

_Now I just gotta worry about making it… _ He thought as he tried to control the energy. The five bullets on each of his fingers were wavering, but at least now he had control over them. His hands and arms were full of burn marks from the simple explosions of the spirit bullets, but he continued to pursue.

_Least they're not blowing up anymore. _Corey thought proudly. That was a step in the right direction, at the very least. He had the heel of his hands pressed tightly together, so that the spiritual energy could not escape, and slowly the energy in his finger tips began to absorb into the center of his palms. Very slowly, he began to widen the area between his palms, expanding the energy into a ball.

_Come on…easy now…carefully…_

He then, just as carefully, began to release his two palms, allowing the energy ball to sit in his right hand, but he did not release the tips of his fingers.

"Come on, baby…" Corey said quietly aloud, hoping it would work.

Just as the ball was getting over five inches in diameter, it exploded with a powerful blast that sent Corey soaring through the air and into the wall of the dojo, over twenty feet away.

"Dammit!!" He shouted, pressing his hands to his thighs in pain. He slowly peeled them away to look at his bloody palms and fingers.

"Crap…I can't train like this…" He grumbled to himself, walking out of the dojo and down the hall towards the medical unit.

_Glad they put this place so damn close…_ Corey thought to himself miserably, pushing open the door with his shoulder, where he went in to once again get his hands healed.

_I'm close, though…_ He thought as the nurse looked him over for the fifth time today, _One more week…that's all I need. You just wait, Derek. You're not the only one who can get himself a new move…_

******

Kurama couldn't help but smile as he watched the progress of Corey, Liz, and even Derek, who was still fast asleep. All of them had grown up so much since he last saw them. The one who had amazed him the most was Corey, who had been flung into this time period, only to find his entire family was gone.

_He seems to have taken everything so well…and his maturity, despite its outward appearance, has grown as well. _

He made sure he watched over the young man's training, knowing well enough how Corey got when he trained. He'd push himself too far and end up hurting himself. He received the reports on how often the human man would end up going to the infirmary the past two weeks during his training to heal his hands after trying to create his new technique.

"I just hope he can pull it off. He needs this…" Kurama thought aloud, walking once again towards the dojo to check up on the young man.

As he was about to open the door, he felt a sudden surge of power coming from outside of the palace, in the training grounds outside of the palace. He had felt something similar to this every time Corey was attempting to create his move, but this time…

Kurama ran from the dojo all the way to the outer training quarters. The energy continued to grow. Not just because he was getting closer to the source, but because it was getting stronger.

"Corey?" Kurama asked, exiting the palace, only to find him holding a dense mass of spiritual energy in his right hand, his whole arm shaking violently due to it's power.

"Now!!" Corey shouted, unaware of Kurama's presence. He ran forward with the ball still in his grasp, and slammed it into a large rock formation. With Kurama's sharp eyes, he noticed the ball of energy was already doing damage to the rock before it made contact, but once it did…

The entire formation exploded into millions of shards, all tinier then pebbles. The ball disappeared instantly on impact, either from the impact itself, or Corey being unable to control it anymore. Kurama couldn't tell either or.

"Corey!" Kurama exclaimed, running over to the young man, "Are…are you alright?"

Corey blinked and glanced over at Kurama, his face and body covered in sweat, "Huh? Oh yeah…I'm perfect, Kurama…" He stood up straight and grinned slightly, looking down at his hand. A small burn mark had been imprinted into it, but besides that he seemed fine…excluding the lack of spiritual energy in his body.

As if replaying what had happened with Derek, Corey stumbled into Kurama's arms, breathing heavily.

"Heh…just think…it'll be easier once I have the Ragnarok on me…" He said quietly, trying to catch his breathe.

Kurama smiled. "You and Derek are far too much alike, Corey…"

Corey blinked and looked up at the fox demon, "Are you kidding? That guy's gotten way to serious…"

The two shared a small laugh together before Kurama moved Corey's arm around his shoulder.

"I suppose you'll need some rest now." Kurama suggested.

"Yeah…might as well…" Corey said quietly.

_At least he's still conscious… _Kurama joked to himself, and the two began to move forward and back into the building, when Derek's doctor appeared at the door.

"Kurama, sir! Corey Kartana! Derek Maison is conscious and asking for both of you!"

"Heh…" Corey laughed quietly, "I guess that blast of energy woke him up…"

Kurama smiled. "It appears that way."

******

"You look like you've been through a lot…" Derek said drowsily as Kurama helped Corey into Derek's room.

"Yeah, well, I got bored waiting for you, so I went out and killed Darkine by myself. War's over." Corey joked dryly.

Derek smirked. "Oh, good…I guess I can go back to sleep, then."

The two grinned at each other, and began to laugh. After a few moments, Kurama took Corey over and sat him down on a bed next to Derek's.

Corey took a moment to finally look over Derek, and noticed his right eye.

"I take it that's another sign of the dragon?" Corey asked.

Derek nodded, covering the eye for a moment, "Yes. The Black Dragon and I now share a body. Whatever I see," He removed his hand, "He sees."

"That's kind of creepy." Corey commented with a small smirk, "At any rate, I think we're as prepared as we're going to be, bud."

Derek returned his friend's smile, "Indeed. Kurama." He looked over at the fox demon, "How much longer until Spirit World can give us the information we need?"

"We should only need a couple more days to get the information center back online. It's going quicker then we thought, and then anywhere between a day to a week to find Darkine's lair." Kurama explained, taking a seat in the hospital room.

Corey grinned. "Excellent. That'll give Derek the time he needs to recover, and time for me to master the new technique."

Derek glanced over at his friend. "Have you decided on a name for that move? Its power reached all the way in here."

"Hmm…no, I hadn't given it any thought." Corey started to think, and then grinned. "Doesn't matter, though. Either way, it's way more powerful then your little black lizard."

Derek gave Corey a cocky smirk. "Watch it, pal. This little lizard could charbroil your ass."

"Wanna try me?" Corey asked, pointing his index finger at Derek, moving towards his best friend.

"Anytime." Derek replied, getting up from his bed.

At the same time, Derek winced in pain and Corey nearly collapsed onto ground, Kurama catching him just in time. The three looked at each other, and they all shared laughed. Kurama moved Corey over to the bed next to Derek and helped him in.

"Alright. You both still need your rest, so try not to kill one another before you're healed." Kurama said with a small smile.

"Yes, mother." Corey replied, snickering to himself.

With a roll of his eyes, Kurama left the room, leaving the two friends alone. Corey closed his eyes, relaxing.

"So...think we have a good shot at winning now?" Corey asked.

Derek nodded. "Yeah. I don't have any doubt in my mind."

"That's good."

Derek glanced over at his friend. "For love."

Corey opened his eyes and smiled. "And for war."


	17. War Plans

**Chapter 17**

_War Plans_

"Our plan of attack will be broken up into two parts. Corey, Derek, and I will take the first team of one hundred of our best melee warriors through the front lines, while Ellen will lead our firearm fighters from the rear." Liz explained at the meeting of the top ranked officials in the Rebel Army.

Three more days had passed since Corey had finished his training. After some well deserved shut-eye, both he and Derek were back at top strength. During that time, Spirit World had managed to discover where Darkine's lair was: in the western hemisphere of the Demon World, exactly three hundred miles from the closest entrance to Spirit World.

A meeting had been called as soon as they got the exact location of Darkine. Corey, Derek, Liz, Kurama, Koenma, and four of the colonels were all in Koenma's throne room with maps and charts lying on a table in the center. All of them were circled around it, trying to find the best place to launch the attack. Unfortunately, Darkine's fortress was built on the ledge of a giant mountain range, with miles of more mountains behind it. The only way to get to it was at the front, and even that was going to be a challenge.

"So how do we plan on getting up the mountain, Liz?" Corey asked, arms across his chest.

"From the information that we've gathered, we know that the actual entrance to the fortress is at the bottom of the mountain. Darkine has actually fused his own fortress with the mountain itself, which means--"

"--Which means it's going to be one giant labyrinth of caves." Derek finished Liz's sentence. She nodded to him and looked back at the maps.

"We also know that most Darkine's remaining Captains are all stationed out front, except for one other Captain and the final Elite." Liz said grimly.

"Okay…so you, Derek, Kurama, and myself will fight off the Captains until we can get inside, right?" Corey said.

"It won't be that simple. I'm sorry, Corey, but we need you and Derek to conserve as much strength as you can. I know that a normal Captain is easily within both of your abilities, but this is Darkine we're talking about. You guys need to be as close to 100% as possible." said Liz.

"I've measured the demonic energy of the previous Captains you have all fought, and I have a strong feeling I won't have too much problem dealing with one." Kurama said reassuringly.

Corey grinned. "Excellent. How about you guys?" He looked at his colonels.

Evan Ray laughed, flexing his arm muscles. "No worries here, General. I'll be more than a match for any Captain that Darkine throws at me."

"You're right, Evan. I'm sure you'll make an excellent meat shield for me." Frank Jacobs said with a cocky tone.

"You idiots…" Ellen Claire sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Don't worry about us, Corey." Logan Fox said with a small smile. "We'll take care of ourselves."

"I'm counting on you." Corey said, holding up his thumb.

"I wish I could be joining you all in this battle, but unfortunately I have to stay here and watch over Spirit World." Koenma said disappointedly.

Derek smiled. "Don't worry, Kurama. Just make sure to have the victory party ready when we return."

"Yeah! If I don't have a cake waiting for me when I get back, I'm gonna be pissed at you." Corey said, laughing.

Liz nodded. "Alright then. Evan, I want you to make sure we have all the supplies we'll need. It's going to be a long trip. Frank, I need you to make sure that all the Mobile Fortress' are working at top capacity. We're only leaving one here for the non-fighters. Ellen, make sure we have plenty of ammunition for this. And Logan, send all the messengers we have to go and tell the colonies. Tell them to meet us all at this location," She handed him a slip of paper with the coordinates. "We head out in three days. Dismissed!"

The four colonels saluted and left the throne room, leaving Corey, Liz, Derek, Koenma, and Kurama.

"So we wait more. Yay." Corey said sarcastically.

"But just think; this is our last battle." Derek said smiling.

"For better or worse." Liz replied with a sigh.

"I believe in all of you." Koenma told them, and the other four nodded their thanks.

"By the way," Corey said, looking over at the others, "What about Dia?"

Derek frowned. "Dia will be fighting one way or another. I just hope he stays out of our soldier's ways."

"I agree, but remember Dia's motivation. He wants revenge for his parents' deaths." Kurama said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I can understand that." Corey said, cracking his knuckles.

"Okay. We still got a lot to do, everyone. Let's get ready to win us a war." Liz said, smiling.

******

If the excitement that was felt through the soldiers could be channeled to Corey in Spirit Energy, he was pretty sure he'd be able to beat Darkine with one blast. He couldn't help but smile as his soldiers prepared for the conclusive battle of this long war.

_I just hope we win it._ He thought to himself as he walked through the camp.

It was the night before they left Spirit World to move into the Demon World, and the last minute preparations were being dealt with. Evan, Frank, and Ellen had all completed the tasks that were given to them, so all Corey had to do was wait for word from Logan.

Corey had never seen all of the Rebel Soldiers come together before in one battle, but then again, as Liz had said two days ago, this was Darkine.

This was the man who taunted him before the Demon World Tournament.

The man who sent the assassin to kill Jade.

The man who was the cause of everyone's heartbreak and hardship these last ten years.

"And he's going down." Corey said aloud, slamming his fist into his open palm.

"General Kartana!"

Corey turned around to see a young soldier run up to him, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"What's up?" Corey asked.

The soldier saluted. "Sir! A message from Colonel Fox, sir." He handed Corey the paper. Quickly scanning it, a large grin appeared on Corey's face.

"Excellent! He finished his mission." He looked up at the soldier. "Go tell Colonel Jacobs that Colonel Fox completed his mission. He'll know what to do next."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted again and took off.

Corey smiled and stuck the letter into his back pocket, then started heading back to the palace to tell Derek and the others the news.

******

"Hey guys." Corey said, walking into Liz's room. She and Derek were sitting in their, with little Cory in Derek's arms. The boy was already three years old, and both Derek and Corey felt like they miss a lot of his childhood.

"Hey, bro. What's the word?" Derek asked quietly, not wanting to wake his son.

"Logan finished his mission. Everyone is good to go for tomorrow." Corey announced, smiling and handing the letter to Liz.

"Great." She said, smiling, looking over the paper before pocketing it. Corey took a seat across from the two, crossing his leg over his knee.

"So…this is it. Our last battle." Corey said with a small smile on his lips.

"Yeah…we'll finally get to finish this once and for all." Derek said, getting up and placing his son in his bed, tucking him in. With a gentle kiss on the forehead, Derek turned around and sat back down.

"It's been awhile." Liz said with a distant look in her eyes.

"What's that, Liz?" Corey asked.

"Since the three of us sat down like this. I think the last time we actually got to do this was when Corey first returned." She replied.

"God…that was almost three years ago." Corey said, and then began to laugh. "Holy shit I'm old!" He looked at his two friends, who were glaring at him, and started laughing even harder. "That's right…you two are in your forties now!"

Liz gave Corey an even darker glare. "I'm thirty-six, Corey Kartana."

Derek began to laugh now. "Damn, Corey, I could be your father!"

Corey looked at Derek, giving him a rather creeped out look. "Dude. Don't even joke."

And then, Liz started laughing, followed shortly after by Corey. The three laughed for a good minute, until a small whine interrupted them. They all looked over to see the three year old, standing right by them, staring.

"Why awe you all laughing?" the young Cory Maison asked.

Derek grinned and lifted up his son. "Because we're all very silly old people."

Corey scoffed. "Speak for yourself, gramps. Like you just said, I'm young enough to be your son. That makes me and the little guy brothers."

Cory grinned and started clapping. "Yay! Me and Uncle Cowey awe brothahs!"

Corey and Liz started to laugh again, but Derek had a scowl on his face, but only for a moment.

"Did we wake you up, kiddo?" Derek asked his son. Cory nodded. "Sorry, buddy. I guess we're all a little anxious about tomorrow."

"You awe gonna beat up the bad guy, wight daddy?" Cory asked. Corey, Derek and Liz looked at each other, then Derek looked back down at Cory, but the young boy started to get tears in his eyes.

"Pwomise you won't get huwt, daddy…" The boy said, sniffling back tears. None of them knew that Cory was so aware about what was happening.

For a moment, Derek looked a little shook up, but swallowed hard and smiled at his son, "Have I ever told you how your Uncle Corey, Aunty Liz and I beat a bad guy named Shura?"

Cory shook his head, wiping a little snot from his nose. "No."

Derek smiled and picked up his son, carrying him over to his bed. "Well…a long time ago, there was a very bad man who tried to take over the world…" and Derek started in on the story of his, Corey and Liz's first case as Spirit Detectives. As Derek told the story, Corey and Liz watched and reminisced about that time, giving all of them confidence for the battle that was soon to come.

******

"Are we all set?" Corey asked, glancing over at Derek.

"Yeah. We are." His best friend replied, touching the hilt of his katana.

The two turned around. Behind them were the four mobile fortresses, eight hundred soldiers who all were carrying guns, blades, and other various weapons. Each was dressed for combat.

Corey was wearing his usual clothes; a pair of blue jeans, a brown t-shirt and his specially tailored black leather jacket. A pair of fingerless leather gloves were on each hand, and a pair of tennis shoes strapped to his feet. The Ragnarok was sheathed around his shoulder.

Derek had on his black karate pants and shirt, with a pair of combat boots and black leather gloves on each hand. His katana was sheathed at his side.

After a few moments, Liz and Kurama appeared from the ranks. Liz wore a pair of camouflage pants and a white t-shirt, with combat boots similar to Derek on her feet. Her throwing knives and daggers were strapped to her waist and legs.

Kurama had on a red silk jacket and pants, with a pouch around his white belt, probably filled with various seeds and other plants. His signature red rose was in his right hand.

"We're all set back here, guys." Liz informed them.

"Good." Derek said, and then turned to Corey, "I think you should say something, bud."

Corey blinked. "Me? Why me?"

Liz smiled. "You've grown into a true leader, Corey. We'd all be honored if you said something."

Kurama smiled. "It's your army, Corey Kartana."

Corey sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Fine, fine. Sheesh…" Corey took a few steps forward, and without warning a large green leaf lifted him up so that the entire army could see him.

"Thanks, Kurama…" Corey mumbled, having been caught unaware.

He looked at the Rebel Army and grinned. "Everyone! This is it! This is the day we've all waited for!" A loud cheer was heard throughout the ranks. "Darkine has haunted us for over a decade! He has taken from us our homes and loved ones, but that stops today!" Another cheer. "Now, I'm not great with speeches. In fact, I suck at them. All I can say is that I'm proud to lead this army into battle to face this evil. This is our last battle, guys! There is no time for mistakes! We're gonna kick Darkine's ass so hard, we'll send his dead corpse into the future!" An even louder cheer erupted.

Corey looked down at his friends, who were smiling at him, then back to the army.

"Let's do this!!"

******

It was five hours into their march to Darkine's Fortress when Logan Fox and the other Rebel Fighters from all the colonies were spotted. Derek, who had been scouting ahead, saw them first. Two thousand men and women were waiting for them only twenty miles ahead, which made their total forces a little under three thousand.

Darkine had nearly 15,000.

It didn't matter to Corey. They were going to win, no matter what.

After another couple hours, they rendezvoused with Logan, who greeted them with a smile.

"Anyone else ready to win a war?" He asked, leaning casually against his spear.

Corey laughed. "Ready and waiting, pal."

It took only twenty minutes to reassemble the leading commanders in the main Mobile Fortresses conference room. Once again, Corey, Derek, Liz, Kurama, and the four colonels were around a table, getting ready to go over the final calculations of their game plan.

"We're outnumbered 5-1 here, people," Liz explained, rubbing her temple, "But our plan hasn't changed. Corey. Derek. You two know what to do,"

Corey smirked and flicked the tip of his nose with his thumb. "Go in. Kill bad guys. Kick Darkine's ass. Come back. Eat cake."

Derek rolled his eyes. "We've done all we can for calculations. Knowing Darkine, I'm sure he has a good idea that we're coming. Honestly, I'm surprised he doesn't have a bigger army set up out front."

"Agreed, but like you just said: this is Darkine. I'm sure he's still just as cocky as he has been, and I really doubt he knows that you have completely mastered the Black Dragon, and that I have a new technique with his name on it." Corey said.

"True enough." Derek replied.

"Okay. Corey, Derek, Evan, Frank, Logan, and ninety-seven of our other best fighters will take the front, followed by the rest of our melee, then our gunners, who will be lead by Ellen." Liz ordered.

"What about you, Liz?" Corey asked.

"I'll be with the second brigade, leading from the front. I'll catch up to you guys, don't worry." She said with a smile.

"Alright. Guys, I can't tell you how important it is that Derek and I get to the front gate. Once there, we'll handle things," said Corey, "If there does happen to be more enemies inside, we'll contact Liz and have her bring troops in to help us out. We have to get to Darkine. This war ends today, so let's make sure we're on the winning side!"


	18. The Battlefield Outside the Keep

**Chapter 18**

_The Battlefield Outside the Keep_

Ten hours after meeting up with Logan Fox, the battle started.

The Rebel Fighters were about five miles away from the mountain side when they were attacked by Darkine's troops. Demons of every shape and size were attacking head on. The Rebel's troops were already in formation for battle, and the last battle of the war against Darkine began.

No sooner had the fight started, Corey was already separated from Derek and the others. The Ragnarok was already unsheathed, and the warrior was breaking loose on the enemies forces. It felt every time he swung his sword, two more enemies would attack. It was tough not using his Spirit Energy to counterattack, but he knew he had to try his best to conserve his energy.

"Take that!" Corey shouted as he sliced through his eighteenth enemy. He finally got a chance to check his surroundings.

Everywhere he looked he saw fighting. He watched as soldiers, Darkine's and his own, fell to their deaths. He hated battles like these. A one-on-one fight was different. At least then a person could tell who was winning. He had no idea how many troops he had lost. All he could do was continue onward.

With his adrenaline pumping, Corey ran towards the mountain range. Hopefully, Derek would be waiting for him by the time he got there.

******

Derek's katana was covered with the blood of his enemies. One after the other he cut down his opponent, trying hard to not use the power of the Black Dragon. His right eye, the one in which the dragon owned, twitched just barely. Derek understood.

_ I know, Black Dragon…but I need to conserve my energy for Darkine._

_ "Is this Darkine so powerful?" _The Black Dragon asked, speaking directly into Derek's mind.

"You don't know the half of it," Derek grumbled, crossing blades with yet another one of Darkine's foot soldiers. The evil demon swiped at Derek with it's scimitar, but Derek merely jumped over the beast and slashed the demon's back, blood splattering onto Derek. He sighed, and started to move forward again, when a familiar figure could be seen twenty feet away.

"Dia!" Derek shouted, running towards him, but not before another opponent got in his way, clashing swords with Derek.

Derek hadn't seen Dia since the Black Dragon had accepted him as his apprentice. He had wondered what had happened to Dia, but didn't have time to give it much thought. He knew he would find him in the final battle, though.

After defeating the opponent, Derek made it to Dia, who had just finished cutting down his own enemy,

"What do you want, Maison? I'm busy." Dia said coolly, not even giving Derek a glance.

"I need you to promise me something." Derek said, causing Dia to laugh.

"Why would I do anything for you, Maison? As far as I'm concerned, when this is over, you and I are enemies again, and I _will_ defeat you," Dia remained stoic.

Derek frowned. "I just want you to not hurt any of my soldiers. I know you want Darkine for yourself, but there is no reason to injure any of the people who want that same goal,"

Dia finally turned at Derek, with a dark smirk on his lips.

"I don't care one way or the other what happens to your little army, Maison. I believe I already told you that," He began to walk away, but not before Derek grabbed his shoulder.

"Dia! Promise me!" Derek yelled.

"Do not touch me, Maison," Dia snarled, pushing away Derek's hand and pointing his katana at him, "I'd rather not kill you with your teacher's blade."

It was Derek's turn to be stoic. He did not raise his blade at Dia, only stared at him.

"I need your word, Dia Jaganshi. I know my teacher, _your father,_ would ask the same,"

The two stared at one another, but then each of them jabbed their blades ahead, barely missing the other, to stab a pair of demons that were trying to ambush them. With their backs turned to one another, Dia said,

"Fine, Maison. You have my word. I will not kill any of your pathetic soldiers…so long as they stay out of my way," and before Derek could even turn around, Dia was gone.

"Thank you, Dia,"

******

Evan Ray slowly rose back up, coughing up a bit of blood as he did. It was just his luck, getting matched up against a Captain. A goddamned Captain!

_What the hell is wrong with the world?_ He thought to himself as he readied for another blow of attacks.

Evan was a fourth-degree black belt, and was capable of channeling his Spirit Energy like Corey was, but didn't even come close to matching it. And now, here he was, facing off against Captain Ikaku, who shared Evan's love for martial arts.

"What's wrong, army-brat? Can't keep up?" Ikaku asked, hopping from one foot to the other. Evan spit again and clenched his fists,

"I'm just taking it easy on you," Evan mocked. It was another thing he and Corey shared: the love of sarcasm.

Ikaku laughed and rushed the human colonel, throwing a hard right punch towards his face. Evan slapped it away with his forearm, and simultaneously countered with his right fist. Ikaku saw it coming, and grabbed Evan's wrist with his other hand, brought him closer to him, and kneed him straight in the stomach.

"Gah!" Evan cried out in pain. Ikaku then retracted the arm Evan had blocked, and elbowed Evan in the back of his skull, causing him to fall down to the ground once more.

"Son of a…bitch…" Evan grumbled. Ikaku laughed again, and kicked Evan hard in the ribs, sending him rolling about ten feet.

"It was bad luck that you got caught fighting me, Colonel Evan Ray." Ikaku said.

"Yeah…I hate the sound of your voice," Evan mumbled, picking himself up once again.

"At least you can take a punch," Ikaku said with almost a complimentary tone.

"Let's see if you can do the same!"

Frank Jacobs delivered a powerful kick into Ikaku's neck from behind, causing the Captain to be thrown to the side.

"F-Frank! Where the hell did you come from?!" Evan sputtered out.

Frank grinned. "I saw you in trouble, help you out, and that's how you thank me?"

"I owe you one, but it'll take more than that to beat this guy," Evan said, looking over at Ikaku, who was getting himself up now.

"A cheap move by a weak human," Ikaku said, but his voice was irritated.

"Unlike you bastards, we humans stick together," Frank said, preparing himself. Evan watched his stance. The two friends were nearly equal in martial arts, but Frank favored fighting with his feet rather than his fists.

"Shall we team up then, amigo?" Evan asked, standing a foot away from his friend.

"Why not? I can't let you hog all the fun!" Frank shouted, and the two colonels ran at Ikaku at full speed.

******

"Keep to a three man unit! Do not let yourselves get separated from your squads! Move! Move!" Liz shouted orders, all the while throwing her knives at the demon foot soldiers. The battle had reached it's second hour now, and she was nowhere near the mountain gate. Her Territory, spread out to about one hundred feet, allowed her to keep tabs on a few soldiers, but mostly her focus was on the enemy and her blades.

Liz had a total of ten throwing knives and two daggers, each she had to keep complete control over. It was nerve wracking, but it was her forte. Thanks to John, she'd learned to move the blades independently, allowing her complete control.

_I wonder how Corey, Derek, and the others are holding out?_ She thought to herself as she felt one of her knives cut the jugular of a demon soldier.

"General!" Ellen Claire ran up to Liz in a hurry, panting heavily. Her M-16 assault rifle was clenched tightly in her hands.

"Ellen! Was is it? What's wrong?" Liz asked, trying to focus both on the enemy and her subordinate.

"It's Evan and Frank! Liz, they're fighting a Captain!" Ellen said frantically.

"What?!"

******

"Dammit all!" Evan shouted as he was once again thrown down to the dirt. His ribs were killing him at this point. He had to have broken almost all of them. Even he was surprised he could still move.

He watched as Frank swung his leg foot furiously towards Ikaku, who merely slapped it aside, moved in and punched Frank square in the chest.

"Frank!" Evan shouted, getting back up and running at the enemy. Ikaku saw this, and swung for a high kick right into Evan's face, but the Evan saw this coming, crouching down just in time to dodge the attack. Gathering spiritual energy into his right fist, Evan shot up and drilled Ikaku under the chin, causing the Captain to stumble back.

"Take this!!" Evan shouted, and started pummeling Ikaku with everything he had. The fury of punches were so fast a normal person wouldn't have been able to see it.

Counting nearly thirty swift jabs, Evan clenched his hands together, jumped up, and slammed his fists down into Ikaku's skull. He fell stumbled down to a kneeling position.

Evan took moved in for another barrage of attacks, but Ikaku grabbed his wrists with incredible speed and grinned up at Evan.

"Nice hits!" Ikaku shouted, and swung Evan over his head and into the ground with a suplex move. Evan cried out in pain.

"Bastard!" shouted Frank, running over and dive kicking Ikaku in the abdomen. Ikaku winced in pain, but rolled out of range of Frank's next kick, leaping up and landing on his feet.

"You two are a good team," Ikaku said, wiping some blood away from his mouth, "But you're friend there looks like he might be done for."

Frank glanced at Evan, who wasn't moving anymore. Frank sensed that he was alive, but probably wasn't going to be moving for a little while.

"I'll finish you off myself," Frank said.

"Not without me, you won't,"

Logan Fox ran up from behind Frank, his spear coated with demonic blood. He looked a little out of breathe, but besides that and a few scrapes, he was fine.

"Good to see you again, Logan," Frank said dryly, "Glad you could make it to the party,"

"Wouldn't miss it," Logan said, holding onto his spear with his right hand, "So this is a Captain, is it?"

"Yeah, but I have a strong feeling he's not one of the tougher ones. If Corey or Derek were here, he'd have been dead a long time ago," Frank said, "I hate to say it, but even with that in mind, he's quite the challenge,"

******

"So. You're the commander of the regular Captains, eh?" Corey asked, gripping his sword.

"Yes, General Kartana. I am Captain Jeremiah," Jeremiah smirked, holding his gigantic sword. The blade had to be about seven feet long and at least a foot wide, yet Jeremiah was holding it with one hand as if it was a baseball bat.

Corey was so close to making it to the mountain gate of Darkine's lair, but about a mile away he got caught by Jeremiah.

_I knew my luck wouldn't hold out that long,_ Corey thought, _I guess I have no choice but to fight._

"So…shall we begin, Corey?" Jeremiah asked, smiling and pointing the tip of his sword at Corey.

"Like I got a lot of choice," Corey said, readying his own blade.

"Actually, Corey, you do,"

Corey looked behind him and saw Kurama, his red rose in his right hand. His clothes were soaked in blood, but Corey could tell none of the blood was his.

"You sure, Kurama? This guy tells me he he's the strongest of the normal Captains," Corey said. He knew from experience Kurama was tough, but having been cooped up in a prison cell for ten years can dampen one's fighting abilities.

"Do not worry about me, Corey," said Kurama calmly, "I was not wasting my time in that prison cell. I'm fully capable of fighting on par with a Captain,"

Corey grinned, "Alright, buddy. Your call," He started to move away when Jeremiah swung his sword, catching Corey's attention.

"Now you just wait, Corey Kartana. I have specific orders to not allow you into this facility," Jeremiah said.

Corey frowned and stepped forward, but Kurama stopped him, "No, Corey," He looked at Jeremiah, "Your opponent is me now, Captain. Do not take me lightly,"

With a flick of his wrist, the red rose turned into a fifteen foot thorn whip, "Rose Whip!" Kurama said, and then glanced at Corey, nodding. Corey nodded back and bolted forward. As Jeremiah swung his gigantic sword to stop him, Kurama snapped his whip around the sword, halting it momentarily, giving Corey enough time to run past.

"You'll pay for that, spirit fox," Jeremiah announced, cocking back his sword and forcing Kurama's whip to retract back to him.

"We'll see about that," Kurama said, readying himself for his fight.

******

"Both of your deaths will be painful," Ikaku said with a low growl, standing back up after a powerful kick from Frank.

Frank and Logan had been fighting Ikaku for nearly ten minutes, and Evan still hadn't gotten back up. Frank was worried about his friend, but couldn't help him yet. He and Logan had to beat Ikaku before that.

The two fighters were close to par with Ikaku when it came to ability, but it was Ikaku's demonic energy that worried them. He was able to sustain a much larger beating then the two colonel's combined, and Frank didn't know how much longer either would hold out.

"We need to wrap this up, Frank," Logan said, spinning his spear into position once again.

"I know. At least our soldiers know not to get involved with a Captain," said Frank, "And with Corey, Derek and Liz nowhere in sight, it's up to us,"

"Great pep talk," Logan said dryly.

"Thanks,"

The two rushed Ikaku once again, Logan taking the lead. He jabbed his spearhead at Ikaku, who dodged to the side. Frank was right there when he did, and leapt in the air, going for a spinning kick to the side of his face. Ikaku blocked with his forearm, and threw up his opposite foot, nailing Frank in the chest. Logan swung around his spear and swiped at Ikaku, cutting him in his right arm. Ikaku instinctively grabbed the center of Logan's spear, and shoved the base into Logan's gut.

"Gah!" Logan coughed up a bit of blood and keeled over, letting go of his weapon. Ikaku laughed and twirled the blade around to try and impale Logan, but Frank jumped up and caught the pole in his hand.

"Not so fast!" Frank shouted, struggling to hold onto the spear, but then something caught his eye and he began to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Ikaku asked, slowly gaining control over the spear.

"Me!" Evan elbowed the back of Ikaku's neck with incredible force, causing the Captain to lose his balance and let go of the spear. Frank used the opportunity to twirl the spear around, and with Logan now up, the two together jousted the spear into Ikaku's stomach.

"Now, Ellen!!" Evan roared and rolled to the side as a barrage of bullets rained into Ikaku's back.

"Storm of Blades!" the voice of Liz could be heard as twenty swords and knives planted themselves into Ikaku's sides.

Captain Ikaku looked shocked as he stared at Frank and Logan and dropped to his knees. Logan pulled out his spear, and Ikaku fell into the dirt face down; dead.

"Are you three alright?!" Liz shouted, running alongside Ellen.

Evan walked over to Frank, who looked as though he was about to keel over himself, and forced his friend to put his arm over his shoulder.

"Fantastic, General," Evan said with a grin.

"Couldn't be better," said Frank with a weary smile.

"I can't believe you two would fight a Captain on your own!" Ellen said, her facial features mixed with rage and relief.

"What about Logan? He fought, too," Evan said, jabbing his thumb to the other colonel, who was chuckling at the moment.

"Either way, " said Liz, stepping in between Ellen and the other three, "I'm very impressed. You three should be proud of yourselves,"

"How did you know Ellen was there, Evan?" Logan asked.

"I sensed General Rain's Territory," Evan explained, "And knew that Ellen couldn't be too far behind. Plus," He looked at the female colonel, "Who could miss that lovely scent?"

Ellen glared at him, "Shut up, Evan,"

"Any word from General Kartana or Maison?" Frank asked Liz.

"No," said Liz, "But I'm sure they're fine," She paused for a moment, then nodded, "Colonel Ray. Colonel Jacobs. Colonel Fox. I want all three of you to go back to base. You fought extremely well here, but you need to recover before fighting again. Dismissed!" and with that, Liz ran back into the battlefield.

"Yes, ma'am," Evan said with a half smile.

"You three are extremely lucky," Ellen said with a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going then. I want to be good and ready for round two," said Frank with a grin, and the four of them took off back to the mobile fortresses with pride.

******

Kurama once again narrowly dodged Jeremiah's sword by leaping into the air and somersaulting back onto the ground. He never imagined that the Captain's speed would be so great while wielding such a large weapon.

"You keep jumping around, spirit fox! I thought you'd be more of a challenge!" shouted Jeremiah.

"Yes. I thought I would be able to do more in this form. I suppose not," Kurama replied.

"What's that mean?" Jeremiah asked, swing his sword once again. Kurama countered with a crack of his whip, rolling to the side.

"You'll see," said Kurama coolly.

In an instant, Kurama's appearance changed. His red hair changed into strands of silver, with fox ears sprouting out. He now wore a sleeveless white robe and was barefoot. His physical features still looked as delicate as they always had, but his demonic energy had skyrocketed.

"I expected I would need to resort to this form," said Kurama, his voice sounding much rougher then it had once, "I have once again taken on the form of Youko, the true spirit fox,"

Jeremiah stared for a moment, but started to laugh, "A costume change isn't going to help you!"

Youko smiled, "You'd be surprised,"

The Rose Whip curled back to its owner and wrapped around his wrist, extending out and shaped itself into a three foot long sword.

"The Demonic Vine Sword," Youko said coolly, swinging it once.

"You think that puny thing will be enough to beat me?" Jeremiah asked, readying his own blade.

"I believe so," Youko responded and towards Jeremiah. The Captain swung his sword horizontally towards Youko, who held up his vined arm, blocking the attack. Jeremiah looked surprised, but pulled the sword back, then jabbed it at Youko. Youko frowned and jumped up, sticking his left hand into his pocket and pulled it out and landed onto the ground, pushing his left palm into the ground.

Jeremiah grinned and swung his sword over his head and slammed the blade into the ground. The intensity of the hit sent a red shockwave through the ground, hitting Youko and causing him to be thrown backwards.

Youko grunted and hit slid to a stop, _I should've known he had more up his sleeve then just a giant sword. I guess ten years in a prison cell does do something,_

He stood back up and began to run to the side, with Jeremiah following his every move.

"Running again, spirit fox?!" Jeremiah laughed. Even though he was out of range, he swung his sword again. Another blast of red energy was sent directly at Youko, who narrowly dodged it by sliding on the ground, his left hand pushing into the dirt once again.

"I'm not finished yet, Captain," Youko said, standing back up. He rushed towards Jeremiah, who swung his blade which collided into Youko's vine sword. The two pushed at the other's sword, but Jeremiah was grinning,

"Bad move, spirit fox," Jeremiah held out his left hand, and the same red energy blasted Youko head on, causing him to cry out in pain and fall backwards a few twenty feet until he lay sprawled out on the ground. The demonic vine disappeared back into the red rose.

Jeremiah laughed again, "And so falls the mighty spirit fox, Youko Kurama," He began to move forward to finish off Youko.

"Not so fast…Captain Jeremiah," Youko grunted, lifting himself up to a kneeling position. He then held out a black seed.

"What's that?" Jeremiah asked, "Another flower whip?"

"Hardly," replied Youko and shoved the seed into the ground, "Plant of the Demonic Jungle… release yourself onto this plane,"

A low rumble was heard in the earth, and before Jeremiah had a chance to move, thirty vines wrapped themselves around him in all directions.

"What the--?!"

Jeremiah was slowly raised twenty feet into the air. Below him, the ground began to turn into a tropical jungle. In the center, was what looked like a large, red Venus flytrap.

"What…is this?!" frantically asked Jeremiah.

"Your death," Youko said calmly.

The vines slowly lowered the immobile Jeremiah towards the trap, which opened its mouth. The last breathe Jeremiah took was a scream of terror as the Plant of the Demonic devoured him.

Youko sighed in relief and the demonic jungle sunk back into the ground as if it was never there. Youko's form changed back into that of Kurama, and he breathed heavily.

_I've never had to summon that plant before…it's power rivals that of Hiei's Dragon of the Darkness Flame. Had I not been more careful, it may have swallowed me, as well._

Kurama lifted himself up and looked around. "I cannot sense any more Captains on the field. There should have been three total…who defeated the other two?"

******

Dia Jaganshi looked down at his fallen opponent, one of the so-called Captains of Darkine's army.

"Pathetic," Dia spat on the mutilated Captain. Alexander, the name of the Captain, had tried to ambush Dia, but with his power over dimensions, he stood no chance against the son of Hiei and Mukuro.

"Darkine…I will destroy you with my own hands," Dia muttered, walking forward, but then spotted Corey Kartana finishing off a demon soldier at the front gate of Darkine's keep.

"Well, well. The human lives," Dia mocked as he walked up to Corey.

Corey looked at him with a scowl on his face, "Beat you, didn't I?"

"From what I saw, you ran away from your battle with a Captain," Dia said coolly, his Jagan Eye pulsing blue on his forehead.

"Have I ever mentioned how annoying you are, Dia Jaganshi?" Corey asked.

"If you have, I'm sure all I heard was squawking,"

"You son of a--" Corey started to move towards Dia, but stopped and took a breathe.

Dia laughed, "Coward…why haven't you gone in yet?"

Corey frowned, "I'm waiting for Derek and Liz, of course. Unlike you, I value friendship,"

"Friendship?" Dia laughed again, "What a weak concept. I won't need any allies to defeat Darkine, so you can just wait out here while I fight,"

"Suit yourself. I'll be sure to scrape your dead body off the floor after _I_ beat Darkine,"

The two glared at one another for a moment, but then Dia turned away, "I don't have time for this," and walked up to the gate. With a swift movement of his hand, the gate was cut cleanly in half, falling apart. Without another word to Corey, Dia ran inside.

Corey watched and clenched his fists, "I really hate that guy,"

Five minutes later, Derek appeared beside Corey, followed shortly by Liz.

"Took you long enough," said Corey with a smirk.

"Sorry about that. Got caught up in the moment," Derek replied.

Liz smiled, "I'm glad to see you're both alright," she looked at Corey, "You'll be proud to know that Evan, Frank, and Logan took on a Captain and won,"

Corey grinned excitedly, "No shit? That's awesome! Remind me that I owe all three of them a drink when we get done here!"

Liz laughed, "You'll owe Ellen and myself one, too. We got there in time to help deliver the finishing blow,"

"Kill steal,"

Derek nodded and looked at the destroyed gate, "What happened here?"

Corey frowned, "Dia. He got here five minutes before you did. Said he beat a Captain and ran off. Kurama should be done with his fight with Jeremiah, another Captain…so I guess that means that all the Captains on the battlefield are done for,"

Liz nodded, "That leaves only the final Elite,"

"Which we'll fight…together," said Derek with a smile.

The three nodded to one another, and one by one entered the gate to Darkine's Keep, where their final battle would soon begin.


	19. The Final Elite

**Chapter 19**

_The Final Elite_

Corey, Derek, and Liz all ran quickly through the labyrinth of caves underneath Darkine's Lair. It was easy enough to navigate; Dia had left a trail of demon corpses for them to follow.

"He certainly is relentless," Liz said.

"He's revenge mad," said Derek, "Trust me. I know the feeling,"

"Let's just hurry," Corey said, "As much as I hate Dia, he'll probably need help against the last Elite,"

Another ten minutes passed, but there still seemed to be no end to the cave labyrinth.

"Do we know anything about the Captain?" Corey asked, glancing around the caves.

Liz shook her head. "No. For better or worse, no one has actually seen him before,"

"Just like Stephen…great," Corey rolled his eyes and continued to run with his two friends.

Finally, after another ten minutes or so, they could hear the clashing of swords, and the screaming of falling soldiers.

"Ten bucks say I know whose causing that," Corey said dryly and the three picked up the pace. They ran down a corner and spotted Dia finishing off the final guard to a large set of doors.

"Well, well. You decided to join me," said Dia without turning to look at the three.

"I decided peeling your dead ass off the floor would be too much trouble," said Corey, "So we figured to help you out, instead,"

Dia laughed in a mocking tone, "I already told you, human. I won't need your help with this. You'd probably just get in the way,"

Corey growled, but Derek put a hand on his shoulder, and then spoke to Dia. "Dia. We should fight together. With the four of us combined, the Elite and Darkine will be no match,"

Dia smirked. "I already told you, Maison. I don't need help," He turned to the door and held out his right hand. With a few swift slashes in the air, Dia cut through the dimensions and the doors fell to the ground in six pieces.

Without a word to the others, Dia walked forward, his katana in hand.

Corey, Derek, and Liz looked at one another and followed after.

The first real room of Darkine's Keep was actually more like the front of a giant mansion. The door had led them to a large open area, with a long set of steps that lead to another set of doors. The cavern was over two hundred feet up, and about a quarter of a mile from the entrance to the stairs that led to the door to Darkine's Keep. Dia was already walking to the stairs.

"Everyone. Stay close. The Elite could be anywhere," Liz said, glancing around, her daggers out.

The three followed after Dia, looking around the cavern for any signs of enemy activity. There seemed to be no one in this cavern except for them.

"This is way too quiet," Corey said, his sword resting on his shoulder.

"Agreed," Derek replied, keeping a tight hold on his katana. His eye twitched,

_"Look out!"_

"Look out!" Derek repeated the Black Dragon's warning, and the three friends barely missed getting scorched by a blast of fire. Dia turned around to watch, readying his katana.

"Damn!" Corey shouted, landing on the ground after his jump to the side, "Where the hell did that come from?!"

"Above!" Liz shouted, holding her daggers at ready and opening her Territory.

Corey and Derek looked up, seeing the Elite Captain. He was draped in red breastplate armor, with tanned pants and black boots. His hands were covered by a pair of black gloves, and under the red armor was a long sleeved black shirt. His face was covered in a Japanese Oni mask. His long black hair was braded down to his shoulders. In his hand was a katana, still in the red sheath.

"We meet at last," the Elite said, his voice muffled from the mask.

Liz frowned. "The armor…it must have concealed his demonic energy!"

"So you're the last Elite. Why don't you come on down and play fair?" Corey asked, pointing the tip of his sword at him.

"You are obviously Corey Kartana: 21 years old, thrown into the future by Lord Darkine. You favor a mixed fighting style of street fighting, basic martial arts, and swordplay. Your parents died when you were in the time warp. Current spiritual power of 534,357. Impressive for a human." the Elite said, sounding as though he was reading a profile of Corey.

"What the--?" Corey asked, obviously surprised.

"How do you know all of this?" Liz asked, staring up at the Elite.

He turned his head and looked down at her, "Elizabeth Rain: 36 years old. General of the Rebel Army and a Psychic user of Territory, extensive training in Tae Kwon Doe, but favored mostly by your ability to manipulate blades in battle. Your parents have been dead since Lord Darkine's passing into power, Current Spiritual Power: 189,987, Not as impressive as Corey Kartana, but you are a Territory user, so the use of Spirit Energy isn't as needed,"

"You sure like to talk," Corey say sourly. He looked at Derek, "Let's just get this guy, already…Derek?"

Derek had not stopped staring up at the Elite Captain since he appeared. His eyes were focused on the Elite's katana.

"Derek? Are you alright?" Liz asked.

"If you won't attack, Maison, I will!!" shouted Dia, who leaped into the air with his katana at ready. The Elite Captain didn't even flinch until Dia was five feet away, then only partly drew his katana to parry the attack.

"Dia Jaganshi: age 38. You once possessed the power to wield the Black Dragon, but lost it when you attempted to gain true mastery. Now you rely solely on the gift given to you by your mother, Mukuro; the ability to cut through dimensions. Current demonic power level: 608,544. I believe both of your parents were killed by Lord Darkine, were they not?" asked the Elite.

Dia's energy flared and his Jagan eye turned red, but then his eyes suddenly grew wide. As if something had completely changed his motivation, Dia merely fell back to the ground and walked towards the stairs.

"Dia! What the hell?!" Corey shouted, but Dia merely ignored him,

"I leave this to you," Dia said with his back turned, and rushed up the stairs, cutting them open with his dimensional powers, and ran through.

"That bastard," Corey said, and then turned to Derek, who had stopped staring now, "You ready to fight yet?"

Derek nodded slowly and looked at Liz, then at Corey, "Corey…I want you to follow Dia,"

"Say what?!" Corey yelled, stepped toward him, "I thought we decided to face the Elite together!"

Liz nodded, "He's right, Derek. We need to do this together to conserve strength--" Derek held up a hand to stop her,

"I remember the plan, Liz…but think about this. We need our soldiers alive, and last I checked, outside we were still outnumbered. They are going to need their head general to guide them, and that's you, Liz," Derek said.

"Well, yeah, but--"

"Just do that for me, Liz," Derek turned back to Corey, "And Corey…I know how much you hate him, but Dia is going to need help in there. I'll stop this Elite; I know I can, but Dia will be slaughtered if he fights Darkine alone. Just hold him off until I get there, and we'll finish this together,"

Corey glared at Derek, "I don't like this idea, bro. What's going on with you?"

"Corey…he has a point," said Liz, "Our soldiers are going to need someone to guide them, and let's face it," She smiled, "I wouldn't be much help against Darkine, and neither will Dia if we leave him alone," She looked at Derek, "I believe in you, Derek,"

Derek blinked a few times and smiled, "Thank you, Liz,"

Corey grit his teeth for a second and sighed, "Fine. Go take the glory for kicking this guy's ass, see if I care," He smirked, "But don't get pissed at me if I've already beaten Darkine by the time you get there,"

Derek nodded, "Deal. Good luck, both of you,"

"You too, pal," said Corey.

"Both of you be careful. I'll send Kurama in as soon as I find him," said Liz.

"Good idea," Derek said, and with that nodded. Liz took off back through the entrance of the cavern, and Corey ran up the steps to the Keep.

He stopped at the very top and took one last look at his friend before running through the destroyed doors that Dia made.

Finally, it was just Derek and the Elite.

"I assume you understand now, Derek Maison," the Elite said, coming down to the ground about thirty feet away from Derek.

"Aren't you going to say my profile?" Derek asked.

"I know the most about you. Age 37, you started the Rebel Army with your wife, Jade, and your friend, Elizabeth Rain. Your wife recently passed away, did she not?" Derek winced, "And you lost control of your darker self, killing Jonathan Wolfe in the process. Had it not been for your best friend, Corey Kartana, you'd still be mad with loss.

"You two then took a trip to fix Corey's sword, in which you destroyed. Once back, you reclaimed Spirit World for your side, and undertook a trial to gain control over the power of the Black Dragon and succeeded. You're current power level, combined with that of the Black Dragon's, is 767,359. I'm proud,"

Derek didn't react for a moment, then walked forward, "Why don't you take that mask off. There's no need to hide your face anymore,"

The Elite chuckled, "Yes, I suppose not. It would seem as Dia Jaganshi managed to figure it out with his Jagan Eye, but your friends did not. Why didn't you tell them?" He reached up to take off his mask, just as Derek replied,

"And have them find out my father is Darkine's Elite Captain?"

With the mask off and strapped to his waist, the Elite Captain smiled. He looked like a spitting image of Derek. His green eyes stared at his son.

"You aged well, old man," Derek said quietly.

"What was your first clue it was me?" Derek's father asked.

"The tsuba of your katana," said Derek, and held up his own blade, "You made my sword, and they're identical. I know your craftsmanship, Daniel Maison,"

Daniel laughed, "What? Too big to call your old man 'dad'?"

"You abandoned me and my mother in the Human World over thirty years ago. You're no father of mine…and you working for Darkine is the final straw,"

"I suppose the Black Dragon warned you about me, did he?" Daniel asked.

Derek shook his head, "Not exactly, but now that I think about his words, it makes sense. Looking at you makes me sick,"

"And yet you still keep that memento of your old man," said Daniel, referring to Derek's katana.

The two were merely feet away from each other now, both their swords sheathed,

"I see you're still honoring the code of the samurai, Bushido," Derek said with a half smile, "Otherwise I'm sure that your attack earlier would have made contact,"

Daniel chuckled again. "Yes. It isn't Lord Darkine's style, but I've followed that code my entire life,"

"Does the code involve you abandoning your family?"

"Things were…complicated, son,"

"Don't call me that. Let's just do this," Derek said, frowning.

The two warriors grabbed the sheaths of their katana with one hand and the hilt with the other.

A quick draw.

Derek and Daniel stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity. Derek's mind was clouded. This was his father. His flesh and blood.

And he had to kill him.

_"Focus, Derek Maison,"_ the Black Dragon said, _"You chose to fight like this, and you must win. He is not as powerful as Stephen, but I believe he is far superior in strategic ability than any other Elite,"_

As if a bell was rung, the two warriors drew their blades simultaneously; the metals clashing into one another.

Slash. Counter. Attack. Swipe.

Derek and Daniel swung their blades at one another like a dance. Neither had the upper hand in the fight, and neither budged from their spot. They were equals in swordsmanship.

After one minute, each jumped back and held their sword at ready.

"You've improved!" said Daniel, a smile on his lips, "When you were a boy you couldn't last more than a few seconds with me!"

"Thirty years is a long time," Derek said coolly.

"Indeed it is," said Daniel, his smile fading, "I wish you would reconsider this. I do not wish to stain my hands with your blood,"

Derek glared at his father, "You left _me,_ Daniel! You left without a word to me or mother!"

Daniel sighed, "That isn't true, Derek,"

"What?"

"I told your mother I was leaving,"

"You're lying! She said you hadn't!"

Daniel shook his head, "That's because I told her not to tell you. It's complicated, son,"

Derek shook his head, "Don't talk to me about complicated! Try living a life without a father! Try watching your mother die from a disease that you could do nothing about! What was so goddamn important that you had to ditch us?!"

Daniel gave Derek a sad smile, "Defeat me, and I will tell you,"

Furious, Derek rushed his father, his blade igniting with black fire. Daniel lit his own sword and blocked the attack. The two flames mixed together in a rush of power.

Derek jumped back, and started swinging his sword in every direction possible with amazing accuracy, but Daniel was able to block each attack, but never countered.

"Fight back, damn you!" Derek shouted, swinging once again.

This time, Daniel ducked under the blade, and thrusted his katana towards Derek's chest, who barely moved out of the way in time to save his life. The blade sliced Derek's side, singeing his skin slightly. Instinctively, Derek held his wound with his open hand.

"You're fighting in anger, Derek," Daniel said calmly, "I know I taught you better than that,"

"Shut up," Derek said, but knew he was right. So did the Black Dragon,

_"If you're going to win, Derek Maison, you must calm yourself. Do not get consumed by hate again. Remember, you and I are one now, but to use my power correctly, you have to remain calm,"_

Derek was breathing heavily, but took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Memories flushed into his mind. Memories of a different time; a different place.

******

It was a quiet day. The clouds passed slowly in the blue sky. A five year old Derek Maison laid on the grass with his father, staring up.

"Look, daddy! That one's an airplane!" Derek shouted, a huge smile on his face.

"So it is," Daniel replied, smiling.

"Hey, daddy?" Derek sat up and looked at his father, "How come we live in Human World?"

Daniel blinked, "Do you not like it here, son?"

Derek shook his head, "It's not that, I'm just wondering. You said humans live in Human World, and demons in Demon World,"

"That's true, in most cases," Daniel said, "But sometimes demons come to Human World to live,"

"But why?"

"Sometimes to see new places…or sometimes to just get away from other demons,"

"Oh," Derek then jumped up and tugged on his father's sleeve, "Come on, daddy! I wanna train more!"

Daniel laughed, "But we've trained all day!"

Derek pouted, "That's not true! We've only done it for an hour! Come on, daddy!"

"Why do you want to train so much, Derek?" Daniel asked, standing up.

Derek grinned, "Cause I wanna be like you!"

******

_I did want to be like you, father,_ Derek thought, _But that was a long time ago,_

_"Derek Maison…are you ready now?"_ asked the Black Dragon.

"Yes!"

A blaze of black fire surrounded Derek, and after a few moments the Black Dragon Armor appeared around his body. Derek pointed his sword at Daniel,

"I did want to be like you once," said Derek, "But now I want something else,"

"And what is that, son?" Daniel asked, fire beginning to roar around his body.

"I want _my_ son to be proud of his father and live in a world without Darkine!"

A blaze of black and red fire rushed towards one another and collided in the center of the cavern with a clash of metal. The two tried to push the other back.

"It seems you have the upper hand, son," Daniel said, still as calm as ever.

"Oh yeah? Then why do you seem so confident?" Derek asked, gritting his teeth.

"Because…I am not as I once was," and Daniel leapt into the air, grabbing his mask as he did.

Derek watched as Daniel muttered something as he put the mask back over his face, and suddenly Derek felt his father's demonic energy start to change.

The mask itself seemed to expand around Daniel's whole body, until his form was now that of the Oni samurai warrior.

"This has Darkine written all over it," Derek said quietly as Daniel landed.

"Indeed," Daniel said, "Lord Darkine has infused me with this power. It was thanks to that that I became an Elite Captain. Like father, like son,"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Derek yelled.

"You rely on the power of the Black Dragon, do you not?"

"That's different. I _earned_ this power,"

"Is that right?"

"It is!" Derek rushed at his father again, but Daniel's new form was much faster than before. Daniel side-stepped out of the way of Derek's thrust, but Derek snapped the Black Dragon's tail at Daniel, who blocked it his sword.

Derek attempted to coil the tail around Daniel's body, but he wasn't fast enough. Daniel jumped into the air and opened the mouth of the Oni, and flames rained out of it. It wasn't to harm Derek, for the power of the Black Dragon Armor easily blocked any sort of fire technique, but to distract him. Once back on the ground, Daniel bolted into Derek with a swing of his blade, making direct contact with the armor, scraping it.

"Damn!" Derek shouted, swinging his sword down at Daniel, but he had rolled out of the way. With his free hand wrapped in the Black Dragon Claw, Derek unleashed the fiery blast of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame right where his father had rolled to.

Daniel raised his own free hand up from the ground and to the ceiling, making a flaming wall to shield him from the blast. The two fires connected, causing an explosion of demonic energy which threw both fighters back and into the ground.

Derek slowly brought himself up again, spitting out a bit of blood. He didn't imagine that his father would have the ability to counter the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.

_"You need to finish this, Derek Maison," _The Black Dragon warned, _"I fear if you continue on like this, you won't have the strength to defeat Darkine,_"

"I know," Derek muttered, and stood up. Daniel was up, as well, and waiting for Derek.

"Let's finish this!" Derek shouted.

"As you wish," Daniel said.

Both fighters energies exploded around them, and bolted towards one another; their swords ready to swing.

One second later, their backs were to each other, ten feet away.

"Shit," Derek mumbled, gripping his left side. A new deep wound was there; the Black Dragon Armor had shattered on impact.

"You fought well, son," said Daniel. Derek turned around and saw that his father, back to his normal form, was down on his knees. Derek's katana had slashed through his armor, as well, and into his chest.

Derek walked over to him and knelt down, "Father,"

Daniel chuckled lightly, but began coughing up blood, "So…you decided to call me…dad after all,"

"Why did you join Darkine? I have to know," said Derek, suppressing his emotions.

Daniel smiled, "My…code,"

"What?"

"There was…a man, long ago," Daniel stuttered out, "I…pledged my allegiance to him…before you were born. He had promised…to help bring the Human…and Demon world…together. He said…to wait for his call…

"That was fifty years before I met your mother," Daniel began to cough harder, "I had forgotten all about him until thirty years ago; the day I left,"

Derek stared in disbelief, "It was Darkine,"

Daniel nodded, "Yes…after working with him for so long…I started to believe what he was doing…was right…I'm sorry, my son. We come from a long line of evil demons. I succumbed to the darkness…you must not. Not again. Do not let…the Maison name…be scorned into history…with hatred,"

Derek gently helped his father down to a laying position. He could barely breathe at this point, but he smiled up at Derek,

"Tell me…about my grandson," He requested.

Derek closed his eyes, "He's…he's a good boy, father. He has his mother's eyes, my…and your hair. He'll be strong, dad, and have his mother's heart,"

When Derek reopened his eyes, his father was already dead with a smile on his face.

Derek choked back tears and stepped back. With a snap of his fingers, his father's body caught on fire and burned quickly to ash. He picked up his father's sword and stabbed it into the ground next to the ashes and sheath.

"Goodbye, father. I will fulfill your last request, but to do that," He turned to the stairway, "I have to beat Darkine,"

Derek left his father's blade and ran up the stairs to catch up with Corey and face Darkine, once and for all.


	20. Darkine's Lair

**Chapter 20**

_Darkine's Lair_

Corey grit his teeth for a second and sighed, "Fine. Go take the glory for kicking this guy's ass, see if I care," He smirked, "But don't get pissed at me if I've already beaten Darkine by the time you get there,"

Derek nodded, "Deal. Good luck, both of you,"

"You too, pal," said Corey.

"Both of you be careful. I'll send Kurama in as soon as I find him," said Liz.

"Good idea," Derek said, and with that nodded. Liz took off back through the entrance of the cavern, and Corey ran up the steps to the Keep.

He stopped at the very top and took one last look at his friend before running through the destroyed doors that Dia made.

_Good luck, bro…_

Everything was quiet as Corey ran further and further down the corridor towards his final destination. The first thing Corey noticed was that the décor had changed dramatically. The walls were covered in what looked like glowing, pulsing veins…as if this entire area was alive, feeling his every step.

"This is just plain eerie…" Corey said aloud.

He ran for another five minutes until he saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Hopefully that's not an omen…" Corey said, trying to make himself laugh. It didn't work. He ran a little faster until he reached the end of the tunnel and found himself in the middle of a room with five doors.

Corey blinked, "Okay…now what?" He didn't see one that was left open by Dia and frowned, "Which one…hey!!"

He turned around to see that the entrance of the room was now sealed shut by the pulsing veins on the walls. A shiver went down Corey's spine.

"Crap,"

Turning around again, he watched as the door farthest to the right slowly opened.

"Door number five, is it?"

He knew it had to be a trap, but when he went to go check the door next to it, he found it wouldn't budge.

"Great. Door number five it is, then,"

Corey bolted through the door and started running again, hearing it slam shut behind him. He knew there was no point in checking to see if it would open again.

Another ten minutes passed as he ran down the winding hallway until he spotted another light at the end of the tunnel. The difference was this light had a weird green tint to it.

_I don't like the feel of this…_

Corey slowed his pace down to a walk and made his way into the green light. For a second, it was blinding, but when his eyes finally adjusted he saw where he was.

It was Darkine's laboratory.

There were machines of all kinds, connected to the walls and into cylinders about four feet around and nearly ten feet tall. From a distance all Corey could see was green ooze inside of them.

"What the hell is all this?" Corey asked aloud, but didn't expect an answer. To his surprise, he got one.

"_They are my pets,"_

"Darkine…" Corey growled, his fists instantly clenching, "Where are you?!"

"_You'll find out soon enough, Corey Kartana,"_ Darkine said, his voice echoing eerily throughout the entire lab, "_But first, why don't you take a closer look inside those cylinders?"_

"Why should I?" Corey asked, still looking around to make sure he didn't get jumped from behind.

"_Oh trust me. You'll enjoy this,"_

Against his better judgment, Corey slowly walked over to the oozed filled cylinders and peered inside one. His eyes suddenly shot open and he fell backwards, still staring at horror at what he saw.

A human woman.

She was floating nude in the test tube, suspended in place by the green ooze. Her eyes were wide open with a look of pure terror and pain in them.

"What…what the hell is this?!" Corey stuttered out, slowly picking himself up, "What have you done to her, Darkine?!"

Darkine's laughter echoed through the lab, "_I've enhanced her, Corey Kartana. Made her far superior to any normal human. She is now one of my many demon pawns."_

"Let…let her out of there, Darkine!! Do it now!" screamed Corey, now pounding on the cylinder, trying to free the girl. She looked oddly familiar to him, for some reason.

"_Do you want to see her?"_

"Just let her go!!"

"_As you wish,"_

The tube suddenly slid up, draining the green ooze and the girl inside of it onto the ground. Corey instinctively went down to her, holding her in his arms.

"Hey…hey! Wake up you're okay now!" Corey shouted, trying to stir the girl, whose eyes had closed as soon as she left the tube. Suddenly, a pulse of demonic energy moved through her body, causing Corey to let go of her and jump back.

"K…kill…kill me…" the girl struggled to say, her eyes open now. They were pitch black.

"What?! No! I'm here to save you! All of you!" Corey shouted desperately, feeling his body start to shake.

"No…no saving…kill…kill me…_aaahhhh!!!!" _ The woman started to scream bloody murder, her body starting to twist and move in ways that it shouldn't.

"No!!" Corey screamed, but there was nothing he could do as he watched the woman transform into a green, scaled demon. Her fingernails were now claws, and her teeth two rows of fangs. She got up and was grinning painfully at Corey,

"Kill…"

"Dammit!!" Corey cried as he jumped away from the woman's claws. "Darkine!!"

_ "I believe you asked for me to let her out, Corey," _Darkine said, laughter in his voice.

"This isn't what I meant!" Corey shouted, still dodging the woman's claws. He looked towards the other tubes to see that they were now opening too. More and more men and women began to emerge, first screaming in pain as they transformed into monsters, then joining with the once human woman in attacking Corey.

"_Can you sense their power, Corey?" _Darkine asked, "_Can you sense how strong they are now? They used to be regular humans, you know…your soldiers, to be precise."_

"What?!"

The human monsters all stopped moving and just stared at Corey while Darkine spoke.

_"All of these creatures were once your human soldiers from your little army, Corey. Worry not, though. They are much better off now…"_

"No…no I don't believe it…"

_"But it's the truth!" _said Darkine, _"You could be like them Corey…don't you want power?"_

"No!" Corey shouted, swinging his fist, "Not like this! Change them back, Darkine! Do it now!"

_"There is no going back…but, if you will not join them, you'll just have to kill them. It's for the 'greater good' after all."_

The monsters slowly moved towards Corey, all moaning in soft, yet rough voices,

"Kill…us…"

"Join us…"

"Make the…pain go…away…"

"Kill us…"

"No…no!" Corey covered his ears and began shivering violently.

"_Then you will die now, Corey Kartana!" _screamed Darkine, his voice lingering in the air.

Corey couldn't do it. How could he kill them? His own soldiers…his friends!

"Kill us…"

"Join us…"

"Stop it…_stop it!!!" _

Corey hit a wall and fell onto his backside, cowering. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't kill his own men…his own kind.

"Go away…please…just go away…" Corey cried, covering his ears and going into a fetal position.

He closed his eyes and just waited for the inevitable, but when a minute went by and he was still amongst the living, he opened his eyes, only to find himself in a world of white.

"Huh?"

Corey stood up and looked around, "Where am I? Am I…dead?"

"You know, that's the second time you've asked me that," said a voice.

Corey turned around and his eyes widened. There, standing in flesh and blood, was his teacher and cousin, Yusuke Urameshi, wearing a green school uniform, his hair slicked back. He looked to be about Corey's age.

"Y-Yusuke?" Corey asked, rubbing his eyes to make sure it wasn't an illusion.

"In the flesh…so to speak," Yusuke chuckled a bit.

"Yusuke…why are you here?" Corey asked, still confused.

Yusuke smirked, "To help your dumb ass out of a bad situation," his tone suddenly got serious, "Listen, Corey…you have to fight back."

Corey frowned. "You, too, Yusuke? How do you expect me to fight my own men?! They're…they're humans!"

Yusuke sighed and put his hand on Corey's shoulder, "I understand, Corey. Trust me, I do. I had to make the exact same choice as you did a long time ago,"

"You did?"

Yusuke nodded, "Yeah…and it was hard. Harder for me, because these guys at least still looked human, but I had to make a choice: whether to die and not fight, or to fight back and live with my guilt."

"And you chose to fight?" Corey asked.

"Yeah. To beat Sensui, who as you know was human; I had to fight another human as well as him. Listen, Corey, these guys aren't human anymore. There isn't any going back for them. Free them of their pain and let them go to Spirit World before their souls are tainted." Yusuke let go of Corey's shoulder and stepped back.

"But…" Corey started, but Yusuke glared at him,

"No buts, kid. Now go and kick Darkine's ass…and make sure to give him a good shot with the Spirit Gun for me." Yusuke grinned.

Corey couldn't help but laugh, "Okay, Yusuke…hey? What's the afterlife like?"

Yusuke shrugged. "Eh…same ol', same ol' I guess. This _is_ my third time being dead." he laughed, "I'll give you the grand tour when it's your time."

Corey grinned, "I'll hold you to that." He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, he found himself back in Darkine's lab with his human monsters still surrounding him.

He sighed and stood up, his right fist channeling spiritual energy.

"I'm sorry…but I can't give up here. I'll make this quick,"

Corey slid his right foot back and cocked back his fist, "Shotgun!"

The barrage of spirit bullets erupted from his fist, destroying the human monsters. They collapsed in their wake. Corey lowered his fist, which was still shaking.

"Darkine…I won't forgive you for making me do that…"

No voice came to taunt him. The only response was that of a door opening on the opposite end of the laboratory. Corey took a deep breath, and walked through it.

******

Corey walked down the long hallway slowly. This was it. At the end of this hall was the man he had been waiting to fight for three years. The one who caused everything: his parent's death, Jade's death, Derek killing John, everything.

Darkine.

As Corey neared the end of his walk, he felt demonic energy begin to pour out of the door to Darkine's room. Corey's eyes widened as he recognized it.

"Dia!"

Corey ran the rest of the way down the hall and pushed the heavy set of doors open and gaped at the spectacle inside.

Dia Jaganshi, with his father's katana in his hand, was raging a fierce battle against a man who looked nothing like the old, creepy Darkine that Corey had known long ago.

The man was beautiful. His eyes were deep blue, and his hair was long and blonde. He wore his black cloak around a set of black armor, similar to that of the Elite Captain Derek was fighting. The armor included a breastplate, knee and elbow pads, and gauntlets. He wore tanned boots, and a white tunic under all the armor. If Corey didn't know any better, Darkine would have looked like the good guy in this fight.

Dia had taken extensive injuries at this point. The two warriors were fighting with blades; Dia with his katana, and Darkine with the same black sword he saw him with in his dream state.

_So…that dream _did_ have some truth to it,_ Corey thought as he watched the fight.

Dia swung again; his clothes ripped up, left arm limp, and Jagan Eye flaring. Darkine casually blocked the slash with his sword and then seemed to notice Corey. He smiled at Corey with perfect teeth,

"The guest of honor arrives!" Darkine exclaimed with childlike glee, "I was just entertaining this other guest, but I'll be right with you, Corey Kartana,"

Dia's eyes widened at the name and he turned to glare at Corey,

"You stay out of this, human! I told you I would defeat Darkine!" Dia snarled, turning back to face his opponent.

Corey remained quiet. He knew that Dia's pride was at stake, but if he just allowed him to continue fighting, he'd be massacred. From the look of things, Dia hadn't gotten off a single hit on Darkine.

Flames erupted around Dia's body and katana, and he leapt back. He swung his katana, and the flames poured out like a wave towards Darkine, who merely held up his hand and with a wave of his strange green energy, pushed the flames out of the way.

Dia had apparently only been using them as a distraction, for he started swinging his blade in the air frantically, cutting through the dimensions with the power his mother had inherited to him.

Darkine merely laughed and a wave of green energy emitted from his free hand again, and a sort of barrier appeared. Every time Dia cut at the barrier, the dimension cutter was tossed into another area of the room. One nearly cut Corey in two.

"Shit!" Corey shouted, jumping back to avoid it.

"Damn you, Darkine!!" Dia roared, stopping his dimension assault and went back to fighting with blades.

"I really am getting bored of this, Dia Jaganshi," Darkine yawned, deflecting Dia's attacks.

_Dammit, Dia. You're just getting yourself killed!_ Corey thought, frantically thinking of what to do. He knew Dia would never just accept his help, but he couldn't just watch him die…no matter how much he wanted to do the job himself.

Dia thrusted his sword towards Darkine, who merely pushed the sword to the side, giving way to an opening. He raised his blade into the air…

"Spirit Gun!!"

The blue spiritual bullet erupted from Corey's right index finger and nailed Darkine in the side, causing him to lose his concentration just for a second. That gave Dia enough time to bring his katana back around and slash at Darkine's armored body. The blade made contact, but suddenly stopped, freezing Dia in place.

Darkine's eyes had changed into that of pure loathing, "That was a mistake,"

With his sword still in the air, Darkine slashed downward, striking Dia across the chest. Dia's eyes widened and he crashed to the ground.

"Dia!!" Corey yelled, running over to the gravely injured demon.

"I didn't want…any help…Kartana," Dia coughed, blood spraying from his mouth.

"Sorry, Jaganshi," said Corey, "But this isn't just your fight,"

Corey turned back around and glared at Darkine, "This ends today, Darkine,"

Darkine, who was back to his smiling self, nodded, "Indeed, Corey Kartana. I must say, I am surprised you made it this far," He floated down to the ground, landing gracefully, "You've come a long way since the punk I faced eighteen years ago at the Demon Realm Tournament,"

"Time's change," said Corey, holding onto his sword with both hands, "And I must say, it looks as though time did wonders for your ugly mug,"

Darkine nodded, "Yes, but that's not all of it. The more demonic energy I gather, the stronger and more beautiful I become,"

"What?"

"As you know, Corey," Darkine started to pace about the floor, "I was not as strong or as beautiful as I am now all those years ago. I was weak…disgusting. I wanted to change that, and then one day, in the depths of the Demon World, I found that I was quite unique compared to other demons,"

"How's that?" Corey asked.

"By absorbing the power of other demons, I felt my power grow. I had always been able to manipulate time and space, but never to the degree in which I wanted. I was no match for Lady Mukuro back then," explained Darkine. Corey heard Dia growl at the mention of his mother's name,

"So, I continued to grow stronger by slowly defeating stronger and stronger demons. Finally, I was able to use my time and space energy to see into my own future--"

"--where you saw Derek and me kicking your ass, right?" Corey asked, smirking a little.

Darkine nodded, "Indeed. You and Derek Maison were to be the two who defeated me, and I couldn't let that happen. So, once I was strong enough, I watched the two of you grow," Darkine began to laugh, "How surprised I was to learn that you had a few drops of the Ma-zoku blood in your veins…enough to acquire Yusuke Urameshi's own spiritual energy. I knew, that with enough training, you would be my biggest worry,"

"Thanks for the ego boost," Corey said sarcastically.

"So," continued Darkine, ignoring Corey's comment, "I continued to watch you grow under the apprenticeship of Yusuke and waited for my chance. When I finally found you alone, I tried to throw you back in time,"

"But you failed," said Corey, "Because of my Spirit Gun,"

"Yes," said Darkine, "I was confused at first as to why you had come into the future instead of the past, but after much thought, I realized that I had never fought a human before who was capable of using Spirit Energy to your degree. It threw off my own abilities," he started to laugh again, "But don't worry, Corey Kartana! I will not make that mistake again!"

"So…it's time, then," said Corey.

The two stared at each other in silence for a long time. The only sound that could be heard was the grunts of pain coming from Dia.

Finally, both warriors exploded with energy; Corey with his blue spiritual energy and Darkine with his green time and space.

"Get ready to pay for your sins, Darkine!" Corey roared, "Because today I'm ending your rule over this world!"

"Let's see if you can, Corey," Darkine replied.

And the two rushed each other, marking the start of the final battle that would determine the fate of every living being on all three worlds.


	21. The Final Battle

**Chapter 21**

_The Final Battle_

Corey and Darkine's swords collided with an explosion of energy in the center of their arena. They held their positions, Corey glaring into Darkine's eyes.

"I hope you don't expect to beat me as easily as you did back in the tournament!" Corey shouted, pushing Darkine back a bit.

"I'd hope not, Corey. I expect an excellent challenge from you!" Darkine said, grinning. The two simultaneously jumped back from each other fifteen feet. Corey's blade swirled with spiritual energy,

"Spirit Slash!"

He swung his blade and a blast of energy flew from it, rushing towards Darkine, who merely held up his free hand and created a barrier.

"You'll have to do better then tha--" but he was cut off as he saw Corey flying in the air above him, his left index finger charged with energy,

"Spirit Gun!" The bullet shot out and nailed Darkine in the head. Corey landed behind him and swung the Ragnarok, only to have it clash with Darkine's black sword once again. The evil being was only slightly singed by the attack.

"Nice shot." Darkine commented.

"It gets better!" Corey yelled. He moved back a couple of inches and started swinging his sword at Darkine, who continuously blocked every hit. Corey continued this for a few moments until he jumped back, and started running towards the nearby wall, Darkine following in suit.

"What're you planning, Corey?" Darkine asked, an amused smile on his lips.

"You'll find out soon enough!" Corey grinned, but the smile was only for show. He didn't know what to do right now.

_If I had fifteen free seconds, I could use my new move, but I doubt Darkine will give that to me. Wait…yeah, that might work!_

Once they were ten feet away from the wall, Corey bolted forward with lightning like speed. He ran up the wall and flipped fifteen feet in the air.

"Shotgun!"

He unleashed the attack, except the blast wasn't meant for Darkine, but the wall itself. The barrage of bullets destroyed the wall, causing debris and large pieces of the wall to fly in all directions, causing the area to be covered by a thick wall of smoke. Corey quickly disappeared into the debris.

"You cannot hide from me, Corey Kartana!" Darkine laughed. He focused and found a source of spiritual energy and flew towards it, swinging his sword. He stopped abruptly to only find Corey's sword.

"What?!"

Suddenly, Darkine felt a new source of spiritual energy coming from the other side of the large room. He ran out of the debris to find Corey, his entire palm glowing with a strong spiritual energy.

"I knew once you had your senses set on my sword, you'd go straight for it. Now try out my new move: Spirit Blast!"

Corey sprinted towards Darkine in a flash, who was already running towards him. Holding the orb of spiritual energy, Corey ducked just in time as Darkine swung at him. Darkine quickly put up a barrier, but Corey didn't care. He slammed the spirit orb into the shield, which unleashed the Spirit Blast.

A monstrous blast of energy shocked the entire arena. The Spirit Blast cracked through Darkine's shield, and Corey pressed further on until he made contact with the black armor Darkine was wearing. Another surge of energy broke through, and the two were hurled back as a third explosion occurred.

Corey hit the far wall with a loud thud and slid down to the ground.

"Oww…" he grumbled, picking himself up and looking at his hand. It was singed a bit, but not bad.

_That was only a ten second charge without the Ragnarok…but damn did it make a punch._ Corey thought to himself and looked over to where Darkine should be.

The debris slowly settled and Corey gasped as he saw Darkine, standing only a few feet away from the impact point of the Spirit Blast. His armor was cracked and his left hand was burnt, but besides that he was fine…only angry.

"How dare you…" Darkine said, shaking with rage, "How dare you ruin my armor with that attack!"

Corey smirked and flicked the tip of his nose. "That was just the tip of the iceberg," His smile faded though, as the realization set in,

_ Only problem is…how am I going to pull off the actual attack? Using the Ragnarok as a distraction was the only way I could think of, and with a fifteen second charge time, there's no way I can pull off the move with just me. Where is Derek?_

Corey didn't have the luxury of thinking about his friend at the moment, because Darkine was charging right at him.

"Shit!" Corey rolled out of the way just in time to avoid Darkine's sword, but as the blade was swung, a barrage of green energy bullets erupted out of the sword, and they were nailed Corey all around his body.

"Waaahh!!" Corey cried out. The blasts threw him in the air. Darkine quickly gave chase, and swung his sword once again. Mustering up all the spirit energy he could, Corey created a barrier around his arm and blocked the attack, but he wasn't any good at creating shields with his energy, and the shield quickly rebounded and exploded, sending Corey into the ground.

Darkine landed and smirked down at Corey, who forced himself to get up, coughing up blood as he did.

"How the…was that…?" Corey stuttered out.

"Yes…your Spirit Gunblade," Darkine said gleefully, "Modified, of course, and bettered. You see, when I swing my sword, the bullets hone in on their target, even if that person moved out of the way. It was no problem to copy your move with my time/space energy." He began to laugh. Corey growled and slowly picked himself up. He tested his arm. It was strained, but at least not broken.

"Dirty trick," Corey grumbled, wiping some blood off of his chin.

"All's fair in war, Corey. Didn't anyone teach you that?" Darkine asked. Corey felt his spine shiver; remembering Stephen had told him that.

The Ragnarok was still about fifteen yards away from Corey, and he knew without some kind of strategy he wasn't going to get it back.

"Ready for round two, Corey?" Darkine asked, swinging his sword in the air.

Corey raised his fists, "Bring it on,"

Darkine leapt forward and swung at Corey, who jumped backwards to avoid it. The second the swing missed, Darkine raised his free hand, shooting blasts of green energy at Corey, who could only jump back and forth to avoid them. Once in range of the sword again, Darkine swung and scathed Corey's left shoulder, causing him to wince in pain.

Darkine took advantage of this and held out two fingers with his free hand. He started making a design in the air, with a trail of green energy where his fingers were.

"Ribbon of Time…bind!" The trail of green energy suddenly sprang to life and shot towards Corey.

"Whoa!" Corey shouted, barely dodging the ribbon, but it instantly snapped back around and grabbed Corey's wrist. He yanked at it, but it wouldn't release itself. Slowly it expanded and grabbed his other wrist, then wrapped itself around his upper body, constricting him.

"Shit!" Corey shouted, struggling against the Ribbon of Time.

Darkine laughed, "There's no use fighting it. That ribbon will last as long as you live, or if I decide to let you go, and we both know that won't happen," He walked up to the struggling Corey and stroked his cheek, causing Corey to shiver,

"Don't worry, Corey. I won't kill you. You are far too valuable to just destroy," His smile grew larger, "I'll turn you into the perfect fighting machine. Your power will only be rivaled by my own. Won't that be just delightful?"

Corey glared, but didn't say a word. He couldn't free himself, no matter how much spiritual energy he tried to flex. He was beaten.

"Suck it, Darkine," Corey spat, shaking his head to get Darkine to stop touching his face, "I'd rather die here and now then let you anywhere near my body!"

Darkine laughed again, "You sound as though you have a choice. You're going to make such an amazing experiment, Corey!"

"I doubt that!"

Darkine's eyes widened as he felt the cold steel of a katana rip through his black armor and slash his back. Instantly, the Ribbon of Time disappeared and Corey jumped back. At first, he thought it was Derek, but his eyes widened when he saw who it really was.

"Dia!"

Dia grunted and also jumped away from Darkine, holding his katana at ready. His body was still badly injured, but he didn't show it.

Corey shook his head, "Dia. I thought you were down for the count!"

Dia chuckled lightly. "You think I'd let you, a human, defeat Darkine? I don't think so, but…" His smile faded, "…I, too, cannot defeat him alone. I'll…" He mumbled something that sounded a lot like "need your help."

Corey merely grinned, "Guess you're not such an asshole after all, Dia,"

"Just shut up, human and get your precious sword…you're useless without it."

"I revoke my previous statement…" Corey grumbled.

Darkine was now picking himself up. The flesh that Dia had severed had started to gather the green Time and Space Energy and was slowly healing, causing both Corey and Dia to gasp in surprise.

"You…bastards…" Darkine growled, his energy growing higher, "I'll…destroy you both for ripping my precious body…"

Dia adjusted his blade slightly, "Kartana! Go! Get your sword!" and suddenly, in Corey's mind, he heard, "_And ready that move of yours!"_

"Dia?" Corey asked, but Dia didn't answer. Instead, he slashed at Darkine with his katana, who blocked the attack with his own sword.

Corey knew he couldn't just sit and watch, and he ran towards the Ragnarok. He heard Darkine try and get to him, but Dia was holding up and not allowing it.

Corey picked up the sword and sheathed it and instantly felt stronger again. He held out his right hand and gripped his wrist, gathering the energy needed for the Spirit Blast.

It was hard to concentrate as he watched Dia getting pummeled by Darkine. Even with his own dimension cutting abilities, they were nothing compared to Darkine's own power.

"Come on…come on…" Corey growled, trying to rush the attack.

_Ten seconds…_

Dia went for another sword attack.

_Nine seconds…_

Darkine grabbed the blade with his gauntlet hand, wrapped in his green energy.

_Eight seconds…_

Dia unleashed a blaze of fire into Darkine's face, which was blocked by a green shield.

_Six seconds…_

Corey watched as Darkine's sword pierced through Dia's chest, causing the demon to cry out in pain and blood.

"Dia!!" Corey shouted. _Three seconds left!_

Darkine let go of Dia and flew towards Corey, "You're mine, Corey Kartana!"

_One second!_

Dia, who looked like a lifeless corpse, suddenly grappled onto Darkine from behind. Darkine roared and tried to throw off Dia, but he wasn't letting go.

"Use it now, human!!" Dia screamed.

Corey winced and rushed towards the two of them, the Spirit Blast attack ready in his right hand.

"Dia! Let go! Now!!" Corey yelled as he jumped into the air. Dia let go just as Corey was making contact with Darkine's chest, "Spirit Blast!!!"

The Spirit Blast made contact with Darkine's chest, causing an explosion of pure spiritual energy. Darkine screamed in pain, but Corey held on, pushing the blast of energy deeper into his body. Dia fell to the ground and was coughing up a storm of blood. Corey didn't even notice. The blast of energy was cutting his own hand, until finally it hurled Darkine across the room and through the wall at the far end.

Corey fell to the ground, clenching his hand in pain. It was burnt badly now, similar to what it was like when he was training with the ability.

"I don't…have enough energy…to do that again…" Corey said between breathes, "Please…be dead…" Corey then spotted Dia, who was still coughing up blood.

He ran over to the demon and helped him up, "Dia? Dia! Are you okay?!"

"Dia coughed again. "Stupid question…I have a hole through my chest…what do you think?" Dia replied, his body shaking violently, "Did you get him?"

Corey smiled lightly, "Yeah, I got him, thanks to you,"

Dia rolled his eyes, "Don't get sentimental, human…I was only repaying you for before…"

Corey couldn't help but chuckle, "Right…were even now. Come on, let's get you out of here,"

Corey carefully helped Dia up and they half walked-half limped towards the exit of the arena, when both of them felt a surge of energy coming from the opposite side. Both of them knew what it meant.

"He's…not dead? After that attack?" Dia asked. Even he had to admit how powerful the Spirit Blast was. He wouldn't have defended Corey to that extent if he didn't think it would finish off Darkine.

"Looks like it…" Corey said, but he kept moving forward.

Dia looked at him like he was crazy, "What are you doing, Kartana!? We have to continue the fight!"

Corey chuckled lightly, "And what? Have you be my meat shield? I don't think so, Dia…"

Corey reached then entrance and sat Dia down just outside the door. The energy was getting stronger now. It seemed like the attack did do some major damage onto Darkine. Corey figured he was recovering from the blast.

"I'll take him on alone again," Corey told Dia, "At least until Derek gets here. He has to be close by now,"

Dia glared, "Don't be…a bigger fool…then you already are, Kartana!" He coughed up some blood again, "You…you can't stand up to…him alone…"

Corey smiled, "Don't got a choice," He started to walk away.

"Don't die, Kartana,"

Corey blinked and turned around to see that Dia had passed out from blood loss. Corey gave a soft sigh and walked back into the arena.

Just as he reached the center, Darkine emerged from the new opening in the wall.

"Kartana…you surprise me. I didn't expect you to have that kind of power," Darkine said, wiping blood off his lip.

Corey unsheathed his blade and held it at ready, "I'm full of surprises, Darkine,"

Corey's blue spirit power started to fluctuate around him and erupted around him. Darkine did the same with his own green Time/Space energy. Just by the look of it, Darkine's strength was now five times that of Corey's.

_Well…I'm fresh out of ideas…_ Corey thought to himself, licking his lips.

Darkine made the first move, rushing at Corey with incredible speed. Corey barely had time to block his sword. With his free hand, a blast of energy erupted from Darkine, nailing Corey in the chest and causing him to be thrown backwards and into the ground.

"D-damn…" Corey grumbled. The two Spirit Blasts had used too much energy. He'd need to focus his energy if he was going to use anymore attacks, but with Darkine back at what seemed like full strength…that would be tough.

"What's wrong, Corey?" Darkine asked, grinning and walking over to him, "Can't take the heat?"

Corey gave a weary grin and slowly stood up, "I can take anything you dish out, Darkine…" He held out his sword.

Darkine laughed. "You barely look like you can stand, let alone defeat me!"

Corey grit his teeth, "Sounds like a challenge to me!"

He ran towards Darkine and swung the Ragnarok horizontally, but Darkine jumped into the air and unleashed another blast of green energy Corey's way. Quickly holding up his sword, Corey blocked the attack, but as he went to slash at Darkine again, he found the dark lord was already behind him. Darkine delivered a powerful kick into Corey's lower back, causing him to fall to the ground.

"You've fought bravely, Corey Kartana, I'll give you that," Darkine said, walking up to Corey, who was struggling to get back up, "But it ends here,"

Darkine held up his black sword, ready to split Corey in two.

Corey had by now flipped over and was staring into Darkine's cold eyes. He glanced behind the dark man and then smirked, holding up his right index finger.

Darkine laughed, "Come now, Corey. You and I both know you don't have any spirit energy left,"

Corey continued to grin. Darkine sighed, "I suppose it is best if you go out with a smile,"

Corey watched as Darkine swung his sword down, only to stop in mid-swing. His eyes had widened, and blood was coming down from his mouth. A black claw was through his chest.

"Bang." said Corey wearily, his hand dropping to the ground.

The black claw retracted and there stood Derek, looking a little out of breath and slightly wounded, but there nonetheless.

"About time," Corey said with a half smile.

"Sorry. Was held up," Derek replied. With a quick motion, he grabbed Corey and seemingly teleported to the entrance of the arena. He sat Corey down and rested him against the wall near the door.

"You look wiped, pal," Derek said, glancing over at Darkine, who was now healing himself, "Why don't I tag in for a bit?"

"Be careful, Derek," Corey warned, "As you can see, he can heal himself. He took a full hit from my Spirit Blast and managed to recover from it. We're going to have to do this together,"

Derek nodded. "Right. How much time are you going to need?"

Corey had already started to meditate. Slowly, spiritual energy began gathering around him.

"About ten minutes, give or take. Then, we'll tag team this bastard and end this."

"Alright," Derek then withdrew his sword. Corey quickly noticed that it wasn't Derek's usual katana, but Dia's.

Before he got a chance to ask, Corey watched as Derek walked towards the now recovered Darkine.

"Good luck, bro…you're going to need it,"


	22. Prophecy and Destiny

**Chapter 22**

_Prophecy and Destiny_

Derek ran as fast as he could through the halls of Darkine's Keep. With the aid of the Black Dragon, he managed to maneuver through it without too much trouble.

"I only hope Corey managed to find his way through this maze," Derek said aloud.

_"You don't have time to worry about him now, Derek," _Said the Black Dragon, _"He'll be there. You need to worry on getting there yourself,"_

"Right."

After fifteen minutes of straight running, he finally came across a hallway. At the end of it, two powerful energies were battling. One was spiritual, and the other was something completely different.

"It's Corey! He's fighting Darkine!"

Derek sped up and ran down the winding hallway, until he spotted an exit and a body.

"Dia!" Derek slid to a stop and kneeled down. Dia was barely hanging onto life. He had a whole through his chest amongst other things.

Dia glanced up at Derek and smirked, "Look who…decided to join us…"

"Dia, what happened? How's Corey doing?" Derek asked.

"See…for yourself…"

Derek peered inside to see Corey getting pummeled by Darkine. Gritting his teeth, Derek went to move in, but was stopped by Dia.

Derek turned to him and glared, "What?!"

"What happened…to your sword?" Dia asked.

Derek frowned, "It was destroyed in the battle with my fa-…I mean, with the Elite Captain."

Dia chuckled painfully, "Don't you mean 'dad'?" Derek frowned, "Forget it…Maison. Your past…isn't my business…take it…"

"Huh?"

Derek glanced down to see Dia trying to pick up his own katana, "Dia…"

"Shut up, Maison…my father…would want you…to use it…since I cannot…" Dia's eyes began to get hazy. Derek knew he didn't have much time left.

With a soft nod, he grabbed the katana and sheath and replaced it with his own, setting his broken sword next to Dia.

"See ya…Dia," said Derek and ran the rest of the way down the hall and out the door. He found Darkine holding his sword over Corey, ready to finish him off. Derek instantly created the Black Dragon Claw and started to run over. He noticed Corey spotted him, and raised his right index finger and pointed it at Darkine…

******

_Ten minutes…_ Derek thought to himself, _Ten minutes until Corey is recovered. I can do this. _

Unfortunately, the wounds that his father had given him hadn't recovered. Not that Derek expected they would, but the pain in his side kept bringing it up. He had bandaged them the best he could with the wrappings he had had on his arms, but they weren't doing much.

Darkine turned around and spotted Derek, then smiled, "Well, well. Derek Maison. We meet again,"

Derek frowned and pointed the tip of his new katana at Darkine, "Yeah. For the last time, Darkine. After today, you're going to be nothing but a memory,"

Darkine laughed, "I believe you're the third person to say that to me today, Derek, and look at the condition of the prior. Dia Jaganshi is at death's door, and Corey Kartana can barely stand." He started to walk towards Derek, his sword at his side,

"I'm sure you're just buying time for Corey so that he can recover his energy. I know a lot about him and you. Your _father_ did an excellent job on your profiles."

Derek felt his blood boil and readied his blade, "My father is dead now. There's nothing I can do now but fulfill his last request."

"And what would that be?"

"Not let the Maison name be left in the darkness!"

Derek rushed Darkine and swung his sword. Darkine barely managed to block the oncoming attack. They both knew Derek was a much better swordsman than Corey. Derek began swinging his blade at Darkine with incredible speed and accuracy, pushing the dark lord back. Derek seemed to have the advantage.

Darkine, however, was grinning, staring at Derek's eye, "So you did get the power of the Black Dragon. He is a powerful entity, is he not?"

"What about it?!" Derek yelled, continuing his swings.

"It's just he isn't the most powerful…I am!"

Without warning, Darkine exploded with energy, causing Derek to be forced back ten feet. The Time/Space Energy began to wrap itself around Darkine's armor, giving it a glowing green look. The manifestation continued all around Darkine's body and finally the energy ceased, leaving the glowing armor in its wake.

"Soul Armor. This armor is created from all the souls that I have gathered with my energy," Darkine explained, "Which is the key to my power…and you're destruction!"

Darkine moved to Derek with speeds that surprised even Derek. He could only roll out of the way as Darkine slashed downward. The impact of his blade hitting the ground caused an explosion of energy, which blasted Derek another twenty feet away. He landed on his feet and grit his teeth.

"Damn!" Derek yelled.

_"Use the Black Dragon Armor, Derek!" _shouted the Black Dragon, _"I do not believe in your current condition you'd be able to survive an attack like that without it!" _

_ "You don't have to tell me twice!" _answered Derek telepathically. In a blaze of black fire, the armor was set on his body. The only problem was, Derek hadn't wanted to use the Black Dragon's power until Corey had recovered.

"Don't have a choice, though…" Derek said aloud and readied his blade, which was blazing afire.

Both Derek and Darkine rushed at one another. Instead of coming in contact with Darkine's sword, Derek jumped to the side and slashed his blade in the air, unleashing a blaze of black fire at Darkine.

Darkine held up his hand as the black fire was about to reach him. Green energy blocked the fire, but Derek had suspected as much. He was now behind Darkine, swinging his sword. He made contact with Darkine's green armor and felt the pulse of the souls inside of it. It took him aback, and Darkine used this to his advantage, swinging his sword and delivering a powerful attack onto Derek's left side. Just like last time, an explosion of green energy came at contact, causing Derek to cry out in pain.

Darkine laughed and swung his foot up, kicking Derek hard in the side of the face, causing him to fly into the air. Darkine followed after, but Derek had recovered from the initial shock and swung the tail of the Black Dragon at Darkine, causing him to cease his attack and give Derek the upper hand. He was close to the wall now, and landed on it, pushing himself towards Darkine, his left hand outreached.

"Black Dragon Claw!" Derek roared. Darkine held up his sword, coated in green energy, and claw and sword made contact with one another, causing a mixture of green and black energy to erupt around them.

A cloud of debris followed, and all was quiet. The dust settled, and both warriors were standing up. Derek's Black Dragon Armor was broken on the left side, and he was breathing heavily.

Darkine's Soul Armor was just as damaged, but the green energy was slowly rebuilding it, as it had with his body before.

_Not good… _thought Derek as he watched this, _How can he do that so easily?_

_ "The souls," _replied the Black Dragon, _"He uses them for his energy; that much he gave us. Which means he only has a limited supply of power."_

Derek frowned, _"True, but Darkine's kill rate is in the thousands! I'm only one guy,"_

_ "Which means, you will have to deliver an attack that defeats him instantly,"_

_ "I don't have that kind of power, even with you!" _Derek replied, getting irritated.

_"Do not forget the power of your friend, Derek Maison,"_

Before Derek could reply, Darkine had moved towards him again, swinging his sword. Derek blocked and jumped back, swinging his own sword. The two hacked and slashed at the other, but Darkine was starting to get the upper hand. Derek couldn't afford to unleash anymore of the dragon's power, being afraid that he wouldn't have enough to defeat him once Corey was back in the battle.

Darkine suddenly stopped his attacks and jumped back, green energy gathering around his sword. Derek stopped and readied himself for the attack. Darkine swung and something similar to Corey's Spirit Slash erupted from the sword. Derek barely jumped out of the way, only to find Darkine waiting for him. He swung his sword and it clashed into Derek's Black Dragon Armor, followed by the explosion. The direct hit caused Derek to fly across the room and into the wall where Corey had sent Darkine through before his arrival.

Derek coughed up blood, his old wound and new beginning to cause him more pain. Darkine laughed and started running towards him, his blade shining with green energy.

"You don't have time to wait for Corey anymore, Derek!" Darkine shouted.

"He doesn't have to!" roared a voice. Darkine stopped in his tracks and turned to see Corey right behind him, both his index and middle finger pointed at him,

"Spirit Gun Double!"

The two consecutive blasts of blue energy shot out of Corey's fingers. Darkine managed to move out of the main force of the blast, but was still hit with some.

Corey didn't stop moving until he reached Derek, who stood up with a smile.

"Has it been ten minutes already? Time flies when you're having fun," Derek said, standing beside his friend.

Corey laughed, "Yeah, well, it's really only been like eight minutes, but why sweat the details, right?"

"This is going to be tough, Corey. My left side is really messed up, and I only have about two-thirds of my demonic energy left," Derek said, watching Darkine rejuvenate.

Corey nodded. "Yeah…even with the recovery I'm only at half…more or less,"

"Well…here goes nothing," said Derek, then held out his free hand to Corey, "For love,"

Corey grasped it with his own hand, "And for war,"

And the third round of the battle began.

Corey and Derek both let their energies erupt around them, just as Darkine finished recovering. He, too, unleashed his energy, which was back to 100%. Corey took the left, and Derek took the right. They both swung their swords at Darkine, who flexed his green energy to block Corey's sword, and held up his own to block Derek's. Corey then held up his free hand and shot a blast of spirit energy towards Darkine, pushing back the dark lord's energy. The two energies fought each other, and Corey used this to jump back and swing his own sword, blazing with spirit energy.

"Spirit Slash!"

The surge of energy shot at Darkine, who had just pushed Derek back with his blade. He then turned to Corey and swung his own version of the Spirit Slash, which overpowered Corey's and sent him flying backwards. Derek leaped forward and tried to attack Darkine from behind, but the dark lord, after swinging his sword, had already turned and blocked the attack, then countered with another blast of green energy. Derek barely had time to put up a shield of black fire, which was quickly consumed by Darkine's Time/Space Energy. The blast made contact with Derek, shooting him into the ceiling.

Corey had recovered at this point and had two spirit bullets charged in his middle and index finger. Before Darkine had time to turn back around, Corey shot his Spirit Gun Double, which made a direct hit.

"Rah!" Darkine roared as the blast hit his left side.

Derek, who was falling from the ceiling, saw his chance and gathered the power of the darkness flame around his left arm, then thrusted his hand towards Darkine.

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!!"

The flaming black dragon roared from Derek's hand, hitting Darkine with a full blast. The two attacks mixed in an explosion of power, sending both black and blue shockwaves into the air. Corey noticed something from his side. Something…different.

_Was that--? _He didn't have time to complete his thought, as the power of Darkine fluctuated around the dark lord himself.

Corey and Derek landed on opposite sides of Darkine, who was now ablaze with energy.

"Now what?" Derek asked, even though Corey couldn't hear him. He took a glance at his friend, who was just staring blankly at Darkine, "Corey!" he yelled, "Let's regroup!"

Corey nodded. "Alright!"

The two ran diagonally away from Darkine, heading towards the entrance of the arena. Darkine, who had lost his right arm from Derek's dragon attack, was slowly regenerating, and obviously furious with the two. His power began to grow exponentially.

Corey and Derek reached one another, standing about forty feet away from Darkine. Derek's leg was badly cut up, and his left wound was bleeding terribly. Corey wasn't in any better shape. His shirt had been blasted off, leaving only battle wounds on his chest and stomach. His left arm was also shot, resting limply at his side. He sheathed the Ragnarok and glared over at Darkine,

"Dammit all…"

"Well," Derek said, breathing heavily, "Now what do we do?"

Corey, who seemed even more out of breathe, looked at his friend, "We can't keep taking hits like that, man. Every time we get a good hit in, we end up getting knocked back…and hard,"

Derek nodded in agreement. "Yeah. The Black Dragon told me he has thousands of souls in that armor of his, and with that he can continuously regenerate from any attack we lay on him,"

Corey blinked, "So what does your lizard friend suggest?"

"Well…earlier he told me I needed to get him with an attack that he can't regenerate from,"

"That's a helluva lot easier said than done," Corey said with a hollow laugh.

"Noted," said Derek. Darkine was already back to full health, but was now charging his energy into both of his hands.

"What…what is he doing?!" Derek exclaimed, his eyes wide.

Corey grit his teeth. "Shit! He's…he's creating a Spirit Blast!" He turned to his friend, "Dude, if we get hit by that…"

Derek was already creating another Black Dragon Wave around his arm, "Corey…we gotta hit him with everything we got…now!"

Corey smiled lightly, catching onto his idea. "Yeah…maybe if we double tap him, it will over power his attack," Spirit energy began gathering into his right index finger. He didn't have enough energy to create the Spirit Gun Double. This would have to do it.

The final attack.

Darkine caught onto this and laughed, his version of the Spirit Blast growing far larger then Corey's ever did,

"Do you two think you can beat me with your level of power right now…in an energy blast nonetheless? I possess the power of thousands…you two are only two brats!"

Derek's arm was ablaze with black fire; the Black Dragon giving him everything, "You think we care about that, Darkine? We're going to give you everything we got…right here, right now!"

Corey grinned, his spirit bullet blazing brilliantly around his right index finger, "This is for everyone you killed Darkine! My teacher…my family…my friends! Everyone!"

Spirit Energy from Corey and Demon Energy from Derek erupted around them, a new source of power coming from their resolve. This was everything.

"Ready?!" Corey yelled to his friend.

"Yeah!" Derek shouted back.

"Give me everything you think you got insects!" roared Darkine.

And simultaneously, each warrior unleashed their attacks.

"Spirit Gun!"

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!"

"Blast of Destruction!"

The blue bullet of the spirit bullet. The black blaze from the dragon. The green explosion of energy. All three of these hit the center of the arena, ripping up everything in the way. What looked like a super nova of green, blue, and black energy sparked and grappled with the others.

Corey grit his teeth, trying to push everything he had into this final bullet. He glanced over at Derek, who was trying to hold his arm up, the Black Dragon pumping more energy into the attack. Darkine was holding his own just fine…and even pushing back the two warriors. Corey then spotted the same thing he saw earlier when he and Derek attacked Darkine from his sides. This time it was clearer.

A gold spark of energy. The Sacred Energy…the mixture of spirit and demonic energy.

Slowly and carefully, Corey made his way closer to Derek, who was still concentrating on his attack.

_If I can just get closer to Derek…maybe, just maybe…_ He was having a hard time forming thoughts at the moment. Something in his gut was telling him this would work. This _had_ to work. The fate of the world depended on it. The fate of all three worlds.

After what seemed like a painstaking eternity, but was more like fifteen seconds, Corey was inches away from his best friend.

"Corey! What're you doing?!" Derek asked, trying to look at both him and Darkine.

"Trust me…on this one…" Corey stuttered out. He noticed his hand was starting to bleed from the length of time he was holding the bullet; the tail end of it still connected to his index finger, "Can you…move closer to me?"

"What?!"

"Trust me!!"

Derek, having no other choice in the matter, inched himself closer to Corey. Finally, the two's shoulders touched, and everything changed.

Their energies connected, swirling around each other like a tornado. The blue and black energies suddenly mixed, and soon a blast of golden power erupted from the two.

"Is…is this--?" Derek asked, completely bewildered at the new sensation.

"Yeah…" said Corey, having felt the power of the Sacred Energy a few times before, "Now! Give your dragon everything it's got!!"

With their new source of power, both Corey and Derek gave another wave of power into their attacks. The Black Dragon suddenly wrapped itself around the spirit bullet. The Black Dragon Wave now had a wave of spiritual energy around it, with sparks of gold trailing it.

Darkine, who had thought he was winning this fight, suddenly gasped at the new power the two friends were creating. With a loud roar, his own blast of energy grew exponentially, taking on the dragon head on. He was giving 100%, just as Corey and Derek were.

"You…can't hold this…Kartana…Maison..." Darkine screamed from behind his energy.

"The hell…we can't…" Derek grumbled, but both he and Corey knew the combined version of the Sacred Energy wouldn't last. Corey could only hold it usually for about five minutes, and Derek's demonic energy far surpassed Corey's spiritual, making it to difficult to maintain a balanced state.

"Derek,"

Derek looked over at his friend, who was smiling at him, "What's up…Corey?"

"How long can you hold this without me?"

"What?"

Corey slowly, and painfully, lifted his left arm and unsheathed the Ragnarok. He then stabbed it into the ground right next to Derek.

"Corey! What're you thinking?!" Derek asked frantically, trying to hold the 'Sacred Dragon' attack.

Corey, still holding his own blast, was grinning, "Just hold down the fort, buddy!"

Before Derek could even protest, Corey had jumped out of the attack and ran to the side of the room. Darkine, who was too busy with his own attack, didn't even notice.

"Corey!!" Derek shouted, but his friend didn't look back.

Corey slid to a halt and gripped his right wrist with his left hand and closed his eyes.

_I know…what I have to do…_

Suddenly, a new power started swirling around Corey's body. It wasn't Spirit Energy, or Sacred Energy. It looked almost like Demon Energy, but a dark maroon color rather than red.

It was his Life Energy.

******

Liz wiped her forehead, giving a loud sigh as she moved troops in and out of the battlefield. It seemed like they had won the day, for the most part. Once she had arrived on the battlefield after leaving Corey and Derek, she found that Kurama was completely drained of energy, but was fine health wise. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to go help Corey and Derek with the final battle against Darkine.

"I just hope everything is okay in there," Liz said aloud.

"General Rain!"

Liz turned to see Ellen running up to her, her M-16 still in her hands. She was covered in a mixture of blood and sweat, but she seemed alright.

"Status report, Ellen," ordered Liz, sheathing her two main daggers.

Ellen saluted, "We've got control over most areas of the battlefield! It seems like Darkine hasn't been sending out anymore troops for the past hour,"

Liz smiled, "Good. I think that means that Corey and Derek are doing well,"

Ellen grinned, "You think so, Liz?"

Liz nodded, "Yes. I believe everything will—" A wind suddenly picked up, sending a cold chill down her spine. She grabbed her arms and rubbed them. Ellen looked at her with a confused expression,

"Liz? Are you okay?"

Liz nodded, "Yes…that was an odd wind…"

Ellen blinked, "Wind? Liz…there isn't any wind right now,"

Liz blinked and turned toward where the wind had come…Darkine's Keep. She hugged herself tightly and bit her lower lip.

_Corey? Derek? Are you…are you both okay?_

******

Derek could only take small glances at Corey as he gleamed with his new energy. With the overpowering explosion of the Sacred Dragon and Darkine's Blast of Destruction, he couldn't feel what type of energy it was. For now, he just had to trust Corey's judgment…but something didn't feel right.

_Corey…what are you planning?_

A strange sensation suddenly swept through Derek's body, almost causing him to lose his balance on the attack. He quickly shook it off and concentrated once more.

"Corey…"

Corey grit his teeth as the power of the Life Energy moved from around his body and into his right index finger. He nearly collapsed as it did. He slowly held up his right hand, index finger blaring with the maroon energy.

He grinned wildly as he yelled, "Darkine!!"

Darkine, who still hadn't noticed Corey to this point, looked over at the young general, "What the--?!"

"Spirit Gun!!"

The maroon blast of energy erupted from Corey, knocking him off his feet. The blast hit Darkine right in his side with an explosion of power.

"Gah!" Darkine roared in pain, losing his balance.

"Yaaah!!" Derek screamed, giving the Sacred Dragon every last ounce of demonic energy he had. The blast shot through his arm and into the main attack, and the attack swiftly devoured Darkine's Blast of Destruction.

Darkine gasped as his attack was swallowed, and could only watch as the dragon opened its mouth, revealing the blue spirit bullet inside. The bullet blasted Darkine, and right after the dragon began consuming the bullet along with Darkine.

"Damn you…Corey Kartana…Derek Maison….raaaaaahhhhhh!!!"

Darkine's body began to evaporate in the air, the power of the combined energies consuming his body and soul. After ten seconds, his body was gone.

Darkine was destroyed. They had won.

******

Liz and the entire rebel army watched in awe as a green light was emitted from Darkine's Keep. The keep itself was beginning to crumble before their very eyes, being lost in the green light. It seemed to be turning into ash.

"Corey! Derek!" Liz screamed, and tried to run towards the keep, but found herself falling instead. She had used far too much of her spiritual energy and Territorial powers. Before she hit the ground, she was caught by a strong pair of arms.

"It's over now," said Kurama, "Corey and Derek have won,"

Liz shook her head, "Something's wrong, Kurama! I…I can feel it…"

Kurama helped Liz to her feet and gave her a light smile, "Don't worry. I'll go check things out. Wait here," And with that, the spirit fox ran off towards the collapsing keep, leaving Liz to stand there, a tear falling from her eye.

******

Derek slowly opened his eyes, finding himself on the ground. His body hurt more than it ever had before. He slowly picked himself up and looked around. The arena was gone. All that was left in its wake was a large cavern and a crater from the destructive blast of the final attack. Darkine was nowhere to be seen, and a smile was about to come onto his lips when…

_Corey!_

Derek quickly looked around and spotted his friend laying down on the cavern surface. With a sigh of relief, Derek slowly moved over to him. He found it hard to move. The adrenaline of the battle had kept most of the pain away, but now his leg injury was making its painful appearance.

He made it over to Corey and kneeled down, shaking his friend's should gently.

"Corey…hey, Corey. Wake up, bro. We did it…Darkine's dead,"

Corey didn't stir.

"Corey? Hey, man, wake up! Come on! We're heroes! Let's go outside and meet up with Liz! Corey!"

Derek stared at his friend for a moment when a grim conclusion swept his body. Shaking, he slowly moved his hand over Corey's chest and pressed down gently. After a few seconds, his conclusion was proven correct.

Corey didn't have a heartbeat.

"No…no! Corey! Goddammit, don't you dare die on me! Not now!" Derek felt hot tears stream down his cheeks, "No! Come on, man! We…we were supposed to beat Darkine together! What did you do out there?! Don't leave me, Corey, please! Please…dammit…"

Derek pressed his face down on Corey's cold chest. There was no spiritual energy coming from his body. No heart beat.

Corey Kartana, his best friend…was dead.

And all Derek Maison could do was cry. Cry for his best friend…the hero who sacrificed himself for the entire world…

******

Kurama maneuvered himself through the long stretch of caves. Bodies were littered the path, making it easy for him to guess where to go next. When he reached the top of a long stair way, he found himself in a large cavern. He glanced around and spotted a katana stabbed into the ground next to a sheath. Kurama couldn't help but wonder why it was there, but soon there were other matters at hand.

Derek Maison had just emerged from another flight of stairs, carrying the body of Corey Kartana in his arms. He looked like he was struggling to move.

"Derek!" Kurama shouted, running up to him. Derek looked as though he was in a haze. Dry tears stained his cheeks. It took Kurama only a moment to realize what had happened,

"Corey…"

Derek looked up at Kurama, still shivering, "Kurama…he's gone…"

Kurama only nodded, "I know, Derek…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

Kurama carefully helped Derek move through the cavern, Corey still in his arms. Derek knew he'd have to face Liz once they exited the cavern. He'd have to face everyone, and tell them what went on in Darkine's Keep.

The walk through the caverns was a quiet one. The battle kept replaying in Derek's mind. Finally, something made him stop walking. Kurama blinked, "Derek?"

"Kurama…I forgot about Dia. Can you please go check on him…he wasn't doing too well," Derek asked, and Kurama merely nodded,

"Can you make it on your own, Derek?"

Derek nodded, and Kurama quickly ran off to find Dia.

Ten minutes later, Derek had emerged from the caverns. He had to close his eyes as the sun light nearly blinded him. Once he could see again, he found Liz standing in front of him. Derek reflexively gripped Corey's body. Liz didn't have to say anything. She felt her own set of tears stream down her cheeks.

"Liz…" Derek stuttered out, "I'm so sorry…"

Liz shook her head, "I knew…I knew what happened. I felt it. He…he died a hero, didn't he?"

Derek smiled slightly, chocking back his own tears, "Yeah. Yeah, he did, Liz,"

As Derek and Liz walked towards the rebel warriors, each stood back and looked at their fallen hero. Some cried, some smiled, but most were cheering for Corey's sacrifice.

They were free now. Free from Darkine's evil rein. And it was all thanks to Corey Kartana, the teenager who had come from the past and worked to free the future.

******

The next week went by in a blur for Derek Maison. Before he knew it, it was the day of Corey's funeral. He just couldn't bring himself to admit it. Eighteen years ago, when Corey and Derek battled Shura, Corey had lost his life, but thanks to Yusuke Urameshi, he was able to come back from the dead with Yusuke's spirit energy.

"It won't happen this time though," Derek said aloud, lying in his bed. He sat up and looked over at his sleeping son, who didn't even stir. He couldn't help but smile at his child. Cory was told about his godfather's death, but he didn't seem to understand. He was only three, after all. He seemed more confused at why everyone was crying, when his 'Uncle Corey' was a hero.

"The logic of a child is flawless," Derek said, chuckling a bit.

After a quick shower and a shave, Derek changed into something he hadn't worn since his wedding: a suit.

"Well, Corey…this is the second time you haven't gotten to see me in this thing. Except this time, I'm wearing it for you," Derek said with dry sarcasm.

After dressing himself in the jet black suit and slicking back his hair (something he realized he hadn't done in ages), he helped his son into his suit, a smaller version of his own. After a bit of fuss and struggle, Cory Maison was looking like a miniature version of Derek. Derek couldn't help but smile and remember his wife, knowing she'd be proud at what they had accomplished.

_I know you and Corey are looking down at us, Jade…_

******

It was a beautiful day; weather that Corey would have appreciated it. Derek and Cory walked out of the Spirit Palace, their home as of right now. Once everything had settled down, Derek had planned to take Cory to his old home, the small cabin that he and Jade had built. He wanted to raise his child in peace.

As the two walked down the bridge to the palace, Derek wondered what had happened to Dia Jaganshi. He recalled the conversation he had with Kurama once he had gotten Corey's body situated and everything else at the rebel camp.

"What do you mean Dia wasn't there?" Derek had asked, getting his wounds patched up by a medical unit.

Kurama shook his head. "His body wasn't there. All I found was this," Kurama held out his hand and revealed Derek's broken katana and sheath. Derek slowly took it and stared, and then a small smile appeared on his lips.

"That sneaky bastard…"

Derek still could only shake his head about it as he continued to walk down the bridge with his son, wondering if he really was alive or not. It seemed almost impossible, but then again, he had thought Dia to be dead before.

After ten more minutes of walking, Derek and Cory arrived at the funeral site. It was filled with people, all either sitting or standing in front of a podium, where Liz was standing next to both Kurama and King Koenma. Resting a few feet away was a casket, where Corey's body now rested. A picture of him and a large ring of flowers were sitting right next to it.

Derek walked up and set little Cory down next to Ellen, gave her a smile, and then walked up to stand beside Liz. She was wearing a black gown, still bandaged up from the battle, just like Derek and Kurama were. She gave him a small smile, and then stared at the remaining rebels and everyone else who had gathered for the funeral.

"I was hoping the day we beat Darkine would be more joyful," Liz admitted quietly to Derek.

Derek nodded. "Yeah…but remember. Corey would have wanted us to be happy right now, not sad…" He paused and started to chuckle, "I'm just glad he matured a bit since we first met. He told me once he wanted to be stuffed and put in a Lazy-Boy chair with a TV in front of him for all eternity,"

The two laughed, but it was merely a cover up. Today was the day that their worst realization was made true: Corey Kartana was dead, and he wasn't coming back.

Once everyone had settled down, Liz stepped forward and stood in front of the podium. She cleared her throat into the mic and everyone quieted down. After a few more seconds, she began to speak,

"We are here today, not to grieve Corey Kartana's death, but to embrace his life and the sacrifice he made for all of us to be here together. Most of us are aware of what happened to Corey, but for those who do not…Corey lost his life battling Darkine. He sacrificed himself so that Darkine could be destroyed once and for all. It's thanks to his and all of our bravery that we can stand tall…and once again be free!"

A loud cheer echoed through the crowd. Liz raised her arms for silence.

"All of us have lost people to Darkine, and Corey made sure that he was the last person to be lost, so that no one else would have to suffer because of the wickedness of Darkine. We must all remember Corey, as the hero he was and still is. The hero who helped free us from the tyranny of Darkine!"

Another roar of cheers blasted through the area, being heard for miles. Liz nodded to everyone and stepped back, then motioned for Derek to take her place. Derek, looking a little nervous, stepped forward and began to speak once the cheers had died down,

"Corey was my best friend. He believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself. I know…that I have done things that should not be forgiven, and I do not expect anyone to forgive me for my sins," He made a quick glance at Liz, and then continued,

"I was with Corey at the very end, and it was thanks to his final Spirit Gun that he and I were able to defeat Darkine, fulfilling the prophecy that was told long ago. I think Corey knew, going in, that he wasn't going to come back out, but that didn't stop him. His bravery fueled us all, and fueled me, when I didn't think I could go any farther…and now I know, we need to go every farther forward…towards a bright future,"

Derek turned to Corey's casket and walked over to it. The casket was open, and there laid his best friend, eyes closed and dressed in his leather jacket, brown t-shirt, and blue jeans. Even his hair was spiked, as it always was. His brown goatee, with a slight shade of red, was trimmed perfectly. His silver oval necklace lay motionless on his chest.

"Good-bye, Corey. You will always be my best friend…and the brother I never had…"

And Derek turned away, allowing all the rebel warriors and civilians to say their last goodbyes to Corey Kartana.

Derek stopped and glanced over his shoulder one last time, smiling, and held up his right hand.

"For love…and for war…"


	23. To The Future

**Chapter 23**

_To the Future_

Derek Maison rolled over in his bed, pushing the covers over his head to block out the sun light that was shining through his bedroom window.

_Too…early…_ He thought to himself.

Before he could fall back asleep, he was attacked by a silent figure. Derek reacted perfectly; he wrapped his bed sheet around the attacker and tickled his sides, causing the attacker to laugh hysterically.

"Daddy!! Hahaha! Stop!!"

Derek grinned and stopped his attack and pulled off the bed sheet, revealing the seven year old Cory Maison, grinning up at him.

The boy had grown so much in the last four years. He was standing a little less than four feet, with a toned muscle structure. His short brown hair was spiked up, and he wore a white bandana over his forehead. He was wearing a black training Gi with a white sash around his waist.

"Daddy, wake up! It's time to train!" Cory demanded, shaking his father.

Derek, who had fallen back onto his comfortable mattress, shook his head, "It's too early to train, Cory…go back to sleep…"

Cory frowned. "Da-addy! Come on! You gotta get up! Aunty Liz is coming to visit, remember? You said we were gonna train early today! You said!"

Derek sighed, but couldn't help but smile, "Alright, alright…" He rose from his bed and stretched, "Go eat breakfast and I'll be out in a minute,"

"Yay!" Cory ran out of the room and into the kitchen, leaving Derek to shake his head with a smile.

_Four years…where has the time gone?_

The day after Corey's funeral, Derek, Liz, and a few others took Corey's body to the spot where Jade was buried, and buried him next to her. Derek had claimed this spot to be the Maison family burial site, and wanted Corey to be here, as well. Corey's sword, the Ragnarok, was placed right behind his tombstone.

During the next year, Derek helped Liz and Kurama set up a new order in the world: The Peace Keepers. It was an organization to help keep the peace between the humans and the demons that were now mixed as one. It was too late for the Human and Demon World to go back as two separate plains, so it was decided that they would remain as one world.

Liz was elected president of the Peace Keepers and to be the representative for all the humans. She, Derek, and all the other rebel warriors helped create a new city, one that would hold the headquarters for the Peace Keepers. It would also mark the new territory for the mixed human and demon companionship. She was happy doing it and glad that she could make a difference.

Kurama was elected as the representative of the demons. He had wanted Derek to do it, but Derek respectively declined. He wanted to raise his son in the home that he and Jade and built all those years ago, and being a political figure just wasn't going to do it.

Koenma also helped out as much as he could. Most people knew of Spirit World's existence now, but they had closed off the area gates to the world so that no one could enter unless they were either invited or dead. It had to be done. Humans and demons alike shouldn't know what the afterlife would hold.

After a few months of living with the rebels, Derek had gone off to his old home and rebuilt. Time had done a number on the cabin, but after a few months of hard work it was back to being livable again. He took Cory there and the two were living happily; training everyday and teaching Cory the ways of the world. Liz would also stop by as much as she could, helping with Cory's education, but those times were few and far in between.

Today, however, Liz had managed to get some time to herself, so she was coming to visit the Maison home. That was going to be in the afternoon, so Cory had insisted they do their daily training early in the morning.

Derek looked at himself in the mirror after his morning shower. He looked just as he did four years ago…a couple grey hairs, but nothing too noticeable. After a quick shave, he changed into his own black Gi and walked into the kitchen, where Cory had already made some toast. Derek smiled at his son and started cooking some bacon and eggs, and after a quick breakfast the two were outside.

Derek picked up his shinai and swung the bamboo sword a couple of times and then looked at his son, who had picked up his own.

"Ready, Cory?" Derek asked, holding his sword at ready.

"Yep!" Cory replied, doing the same.

And the two began their morning practice. Cory's improvement grew dramatically every day. Derek knew he would be a powerful warrior, and probably end up joining the Peace Keepers soon enough. Until then, Derek would just prepare him the best he could for the inevitable battles he'd have to face. It would be too good to be true if every demon decided to live in harmony with humans, but one day…maybe. Just maybe.

******

"Don't you ever stop for one day, Derek?"

Derek and Cory stopped their training and looked over to see Liz, smiling over at them with her arms crossed.

Derek laughed, "Not with this kid around,"

Liz had matured even more over the past four years. Being the representative of all humans was a tough responsibility, he was sure, but she handled it with perfection. She wore her long hair in a braid, and she was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt, unlike the last time Derek saw her. Last time she had on a full business suit. It was nice seeing her the way he remembered, back in the days before Darkine had come along.

"Aunty Liz!" Cory cried out with glee, dropping his shinai and running up to her. He jumped up and Liz caught him, giving him a tight hug.

"Hey there, kiddo! You're looking tough," She grinned and looked over at Derek, "And you haven't changed a bit, of course."

Derek shrugged, "Gotta keep in shape…otherwise Cory there will be teaching me a lesson or two."

Liz laughed, "That's right. You better watch out," She smiled and put Cory down, who was running around now, showing off.

"Aunty Liz! Aunty Liz! Look what I can do!" He called out. He held out his hand and suddenly a blaze of fire erupted around his fist, "Fist of the Mortal Flame!" He jumped into the air and shot down to the ground, punching the hard soil and causing a small crater to appear. He jumped back up and looked back at Liz, who was clapping,

"Wow, Cory! That's amazing!" She said, smiling wide.

Cory nodded with pride and looked over at Derek, who was also smiling and nodding with approval.

"Go wash up, Cory. I'm going to go and start lunch." Derek said. It was already noon. He hadn't even noticed.

"Okay!" and the young boy ran into the house.

Liz chuckled and walked over to Derek, giving him a hug, "How're you doing, Derek? It must get quiet around here with just you and Cory."

Derek smiled. "I like quiet…not that I get much _with_ Cory." He laughed, "But things are good. Those academic books you dropped off are paying off with Cory's studies. Thanks."

Liz nodded, "Not a problem."

"How're things going in the city?"

"Not too bad. The construction is almost complete with only a few setbacks but nothing to substantial. The Peace Keeper's Tower is almost done, too." Liz replied, walking back to the cabin next to Derek.

"I see," said Derek with a nod, "No demons giving you too much trouble, is there?"

Liz chuckled. "Nothing we can't handle…oh! I forgot to tell you!" She started digging in her pocket, and pulled out a letter, handing it to Derek. He read over it and his jaw nearly dropped,

"Evan and Ellen are getting married?!"

Liz laughed. "Yeah, isn't it amazing?"

"I thought Ellen hated Evan!"

"You need to pay more attention, Derek Maison." Liz smirked, "After the war, Evan finally worked up the courage to ask Ellen out on an actual date, and one thing led to another, and a month ago he popped the question."

Derek grinned and pocketed the invitation to the wedding, "Good for them. I'll be there for sure,"

Liz smiled, "Good. I'm going to be her maid of honor."

"I'd hope so! She is your best friend, after all,"

The two shared a laugh and walked inside. Cory was taking a bath, so Derek began preparing lunch. Liz sat down and the two chatted for a little while longer. Ten minutes later, all three of them were sitting down at the table, eating sandwiches.

As they ate, Derek couldn't help but remember his time in the strange forest when he and Corey were searching for the mystical ore that would help re-forge Corey's sword. In a time when Jade and John were still alive, and Corey had never gone into the future. Had Darkine never come, all three of them would still be here, probably enjoying a lunch similar to this one.

"Derek?" Liz asked, snapping Derek's attention back to reality.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright? You started zoning out,"

Derek cleared his throat and smiled, "Yeah I'm fine Liz. Don't worry about me,"

The rest of the day passed by quickly enough. Derek and Liz caught up on events in the city and what was happening with all of the rebel fighters. Logan had retired from military life and settled down. He was now the father of a pair of twin girls. Frank was now ranked a general and was one of the first commanding officers of the Peace Keepers. Evan and Ellen were both busy with their own wedding plans, as well as the construction of the new city. They were both still in the military, but not doing nearly as much as Frank, who was also to be Evan's best man at the wedding.

A bit of sad news finally came from Liz. Arthur had passed away. The old man seemed as spry as the rest of the world when Darkine had finally been defeated, but it was finally his time. He had gone peacefully in his sleep. Derek was thankful he was at least able to see the end to the war before he left.

Soon, it was early evening, and Derek and Liz were busy making dinner while Cory got ready for bed. As Derek was just about ready to serve, a knock was heard from his door.

"What the--?" Derek asked aloud, looking over to Liz, who merely shrugged.

"Don't look at me."

The two walked over to the door, but Cory had made it there first and opened it up. There stood both Koenma and Kurama, smiling.

"Good evening, all." Said Koenma.

Derek grinned. "I hope you're not here to tell us it's our time,"

The four adults laughed and Derek invited the two in.

"So this is your home, Derek," Kurama said, "I've never gotten a chance to actually see it."

Derek smiled. "Yeah. It's small, but works fine for me and the little guy over there,"

Cory frowned. "I'm not little!"

Everyone laughed again, and they all sat down for dinner. Derek and Liz served up the pork roast, potatoes, and some wine for the adults. They all ate and chatted.

"So, not that I'm complaining or anything, but what brings you two here?" Derek asked Kurama and Koenma, "Nothing is happening with Spirit World, is it?"

Koenma shook his head, "No, not at all. It's just it's been four years since we've all been together, we thought we'd drop by and say hello."

Kurama cleared his throat and wiped his mouth, "I was told the ambassador of the humans was taking a little break, so I figured the demon ambassador could do the same."

"Why not!" said Liz, smiling.

All five of them talked and reminisced over dinner, then moved into the living room where they would be more comfortable. Derek started a fire, and over a couple glasses of wine they shared stories of the last four years, and of times passed.

Finally, Derek noticed what time it was and smiled over at his son.

"Bed time, kiddo." Derek said.

Cory pouted, "Aww…but everyone's here, daddy! Can't I stay up a little later?"

"I don't know, Cory. You've been up all day. You need your sleep."

"Can I at least have a story before bedtime?" Cory pleaded, walking over and sitting on his father's lap.

"Cory…"

"Pleeeease, daddy?"

Derek glanced around to see all of his friends smiling at him, and finally he sighed and gave in. "Alright. One story then bedtime."

"Yay!" Cory cheered, getting more comfortable.

"What story do you want to hear?" Derek asked.

"I wanna hear about how you, Aunty Liz, Kurama, and Uncle Corey all saved the world!"

Derek glanced over at Liz, and the two exchanged warm smiles. It was a story that had been edged into Cory's brain since the day after the war. Some of the details were edited a bit, but it was mostly all fact.

"Alright, kiddo," Derek watched as Liz, Kurama, and Koenma all got comfortable, and he cleared his throat,

"The story starts eighteen years ago, when your Uncle Corey was transported through time after the Demon World Tournament and into the future…where your mother, Aunty Liz, and I had started the Rebel Army…"

******

After about twenty minutes of the story, Koenma had quietly left the warm cabin and stepped outside. The king of Spirit World then held up his hand and a wave of blue energy appeared in the air. He stepped through it, and then found himself in the middle of the Spirit Palace. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes and started to move towards the throne room.

"How are they?"

Koenma spun around to see a young man wearing a black leather jacket and a pair of fingerless leather gloves. He wore a pair of blue jeans, and even though his back was to him, Koenma could tell he was wearing a brown t-shirt beneath the jacket. His dark brown hair was spiked, and his hands were at his side.

"They're happy."

The young man turned around, revealing a goatee the same color as his hair, with a slight tint of red on the sides. He smiled at the king, and then turned back around and walked off towards the endless plains of the Spirit World…


End file.
